New York clothing company seeks trademark for Judge cheering area
A New York clothing company has applied for a trademark for the name of New York Yankees rookie slugger Aaron Judge’s cheering section at Yankee Stadium: “The Judge’s Chambers.”
New York-based Block Industries, which counts baseball-focused apparelmaker 7th Inning Stretch among its brands, filed the trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on May 29, according to online records. Block Industries is seeking to use “The Judge’s Chambers” on sweatshirts, Tshirts and tops for men, women and children.
“Part of my job is to create great sports graphics, and we thought ‘The Judge’s Chambers’ would be one of those good graphic plays,” Jeff Block, the president of Block Industries, told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday.
Block, a life-long Yankees fan, said seeking the trademark “just made sense.” He said he expects to sell the apparel in August or September.
The application has met the minimum filing requirements but has not been assigned to an examiner, according to online U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records. Therese Varndell, a partner with Virginia-based Posz Law Group, said there could be issues as Block seeks the trademark.
“In this situation, if you Google ‘the judge’s chambers’ a link immediately appears as to Aaron Judge’s use to define a section at Yankee Stadium,” Varndell told USA TODAY Sports. “This is common law use plus by a famous person. The U.S. Trademark Office rejects applications for trademark registration based on common law uses. Therefore, it is most likely that the U.S. Trademark Office will reject the application.”
The Judge’s Chambers section made its debut May 22, a week before Block filed for the trademark.
The application actually lists “The Judges Chambers” as the trademark sought, but it’s common for those seeking a trademark to leave off apostrophes and other symbols. If approved, the trademark would cover the use of the apostrophe.
Other individuals also submitted for trademark applications for “Judge me” and “Judge For Yourself ” last month.
Judge, 25, was American League rookie of the month for the first two months of the season and entered play Tuesday leading the league in batting average (.347), runs (57), home runs (22), walks (39) and total bases (155).