Robert Griffin III is already more than a household name, and if all goes to plan for the Redskins he’s going to be an NFL superstar. As we know, these things don’t always turn out the way teams hope they will. But Griffin isn’t taking any chances. If and when he becomes a celebrity athlete, nobody is going to be making money off RG3’s name without permission.
According to ChangeLegal.com, Griffin hired an attorney after he declared for the NFL Draft and has since created a company called Thr3escompany, LLC. He has submitted applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office for four trademarks, three of which involve his name and one which is a phrase. Griffin has applied for patents on the name Robert Griffin III as well as the abbreviations RG3 and RGIII. He is also trademarking the phrase “Unbelievably Believable.” As ChangeLegal.com reminded us, Griffin described the moment he received the Heisman Trophy as “unbelievably believable.”
Griffin has trademarked the three names with the intention of selling merchandise while the phrase is intended for “promoting the goods and services of others, sponsorship of sports and athletic events and activities.” There’s no word yet on whether or not he plans to trademark the act of wearing childish socks to adult events.
While RG3 will probably take a lot of heat for the trademarks — especially the phrase “unbelievably believable” — it’s a smart business move on his part. As we learned with Tim Tebow and the Tebowing website as well as Jeremy Lin with the California weed shops, trademarking your name ahead of time isn’t necessarily a bad idea.
H/T WUSA 9 in Washington, D.C.
Photo credit: Paul Frederiksen-US PRESSWIRE
