Tiger Woods’ new clothing brand is hitting some serious roadblocks, with sporting giant Puma now challenging his tiger logo design.
The company behind the famous leaping cat logo – which they’ve used for over 50 years – says Tiger’s new Sun Day Red brand logo looks too similar to theirs.
It’s the second legal battle Woods is facing over his logo. A cooling company called Tigeraire is already fighting him in court over similar concerns.
Puma filed their complaint on January 2nd, claiming customers might get confused between their iconic leaping cat and Woods’ new tiger design.
“Consumer confusion is likely between the Challenged Marks and the Leaping Cat logo,” Puma stated in their legal documents.
Woods launched Sun Day Red just last February after ending his massive 27-year partnership with Nike. The brand’s logo features 15 lines, representing his 15 major championship wins.
TaylorMade, who’s partnering with Woods on the new brand, isn’t backing down. They told CNBC they’re “very confident in our trademarks and logos.”
The situation’s getting pretty complicated for Tiger. He’s already had to sue Tigeraire – though he says he did it “reluctantly” – after they claimed he “unlawfully hijacked” their design.
But taking on Puma? That’s a whole different ball game.
It’s not exactly shocking that Woods wanted to use a tiger in his logo – it’s been his nickname since forever. But being one of sports’ biggest names also makes him a bigger target.
For now, Tiger’s still rocking his Sun Day Red gear, most recently at the launch of his new TGL golf league with Rory McIlroy.
The big question is: how will Woods and TaylorMade handle these challenges as they try to make their mark in the competitive sportswear market?