A partner for the Tron Foundation has been blocked from obtaining a trademark patent regarding the network’s name by Disney.
First reported by crypto news outlet Decrypt, the Tron Foundation’s Chinese partner Raybo Technology filed trademark requests for “TRON,” “TRONNETWORK,” and “TRONIX” in February 2018. However, Disney–who owns the rights to the TRON film franchise–quickly filed notices of opposition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), claiming that the Tron Foundation’s trademarks would lead to brand confusion.
According to the report, Disney was successful in opposing the trademarks, with the USPTO rejecting all three applications by the Tron Foundation’s partner last month. Disney argued that the cryptoasset would infringe upon its popular TRON series which dates back to the original film released in 1982.
Disney called the Tron Foundation’s decision to title the crypto-asset in all capital letters as a move of “bad faith” and infringing upon the TRON franchise.
Jake Chervinsky, general counsel for Compound, told Decrypt,
Tron clearly didn't take the trademark registration process seriously. They never hired U.S. counsel to represent them, even though the USPTO explicitly ordered them to do so. They also didn't respond to the USPTO's notice of default, meaning they gave up on their trademark attempt completely.
Featured Image Credit: Photo via Pixabay.com
