A little-known Dutch company is seeking to hinder the plans of mixed martial arts superstar Conor McGregor to expand his brand across Europe.
McGregor IP BV has lodged three separate objections against planned trademarks sought by McGregor’s main business, McGregor Sports & Entertainment Ltd.
Documents lodged with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante confirm that the Dutch company has lodged formal objections against McGregor registering 'The McGregor Follows' and 'McGregor Productions' as trademarks.
The company previously objected to plans by McGregor to register the ‘McGregor F.A.S.T’ brand across Europe. McGregor sells his Fighter Aerobic/Anaerobic System of Training (F.A.S.T) to fitness enthusiasts.
Last year, the fighter’s plans to obtain a trademark for his planned whiskey Notorious whiskey came unstuck in the face of opposition from a Carlow brewer that had already secured the trademark for “Notorious”. McGregor withdrew his application for the whiskey trademark.
He subsequently launched the whiskey under the Proper No Twelve brand.
Documentation at the EUIPO show that McGregor Sports and Entertainment Ltd hopes to register the McGregor Productions trademark for a range of activities, including DVDs, videos and the reproduction of sound and images.
Confusion
McGregor IP is objecting to some of the goods and services proposed by McGregor Productions. The Dutch company claims that “there exists a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public” concerning the proposed trademark.
It claims the same grounds of objection apply to the planned The McGregor Follows trademark.
McGregor Sports and Entertainment Ltd was only established in July 2014 to exploit the fighter and former plumber's earning potential. Already, his plans to register the name "Conor McGregor" face opposition. In 2017, the Doniger Fashion Group BV lodged an objection against the plan and that application remains before the EUIPO.
The opposition to various trademarks being sought by the Dublin-based McGregor firm is unlikely to upset the 30-year-old Crumlin man too much. According to the latest estimate from Forbes, McGregor was the fourth highest earning sportsman in the world in 2017-2018, with total earnings of $99 million.
