Puma Files Trademark Opposition Against Tiger Woods’ Sun Day Red Logos

While Tiger Woods’ Sun Day Red golf label is nearly a year-old, it’s logos may need to change if Puma has anything to say about it.

According to a Jan. 2 filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, Puma is opposing Sun Day Red’s “tiger logo” and “SDR tiger logo” that Woods is aiming to trademark for the use on eyewear, bags, golf towels, clothing, footwear, sports equipment and retail services.

In the filing, Puma said that Sun Day Red’s marks will “cause confusion as to the source, sponsorship, association or affiliation of those goods and services due to Puma’s strong position in the footwear, apparel and sports industries.”

The German athletic company added that Sun Day Red’s logos may “dilute the strength and fame” of Puma’s “leaping cat” marks, which were designed between 1967 and 1968 by German cartoonist Lutz Backes, according to the filing.

“Due to the confusing similarity of the marks and the identical, legally identical, or closely related nature of the goods and services of the parties, consumer confusion is likely between the challenged marks and the leaping cat logo and the marks in the leaping cat registrations,” the filing said.

FN has reached out to Puma and Sun Day Red for comment.

This is the second notice of opposition against Sun Day Red. A small company called Tigeraire filed a notice of opposition in September, which remains in litigation in federal court.

In February, Woods announced the launch of Sun Day Red as its own standalone company via a new joint venture with TaylorMade Golf after ending his longtime deal with Nike.

At the time, the brand’s name was derived from Woods’ habit of wearing red of Sundays, while the stripes on the tiger represented the 15 major championship wins the PGA legend has achieved throughout his golf career.

In December, Sun Day Red introduced its first golf shoe. First seen on Woods at the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. in February, Sun Day Red’s new high-performance golf shoe was designed and developed to meet his high standards of fit, comfort, performance and style.

According to Sun Day Red executive creative director Charley Hudak, the new model, dubbed the “Pioneer Cypress,” is the result of nearly 20 prototypes and design adjustments that were made to fit Woods’ exacting specifications.