Boult Wade Tennant
Bulletins » New US Trade Mark Application in the blocks for Usain Bolt.

It has been almost exactly five years since the legendary sprinter Usain Bolt last took to the track: in fact, I was in the stadium to witness his final 100m race at the 2017 World Championships in London. Nonetheless, his name and reputation endure as one of the all-time sporting greats, and his recent trade mark activity suggests that he shows no signs of slowing down soon.

On 17 August, Mr Bolt filed a US trade mark application for a logo based on his iconic celebration pose: a silhouette showing a figure leaning back while pointing both arms upwards. This is not a new logo: there are registrations for the same trade mark in Bolt’s name in territories as diverse as the UK, EU, China, Argentina and Mexico, the earliest of which date back to 2009.

Two things are noteworthy about this filing, though. The first is that the track star had previously abandoned a US application for the same mark as he was not able to submit the required evidence of use of the mark in commerce. Re-filing implies that he is planning a more serious expansion into the US market. The other is the range of goods and services covered by the application: among them are terms not covered by his previous filings around the world, such as sunglasses, jewellery and, perhaps most interestingly, restaurant and sports bar services. Perhaps we are about to see the launch of a Bolt-themed bar in the States.

Usain Bolt is fortunate that, alongside his name, he has an image that is immediately associated with his achievements by fans, similar to Michael Jordan’s slam-dunk logo. It can be a hugely beneficial for an individual to develop a logo that identifies their business beyond their name.

As a rule, sports stars spend far longer in retirement than they do at the peak of their careers. Trade mark protection can help to ensure that their legacy continues after they have hung up their spikes, but it is important for athletes to consider the right protection for their possible future business interests. Working in partnership with a qualified trade mark attorney is the best way to develop a global brand strategy that can protect a star’s rights around the world.

Relevant sectors
Aerospace
  • Commercial aviation
  • Defence and security
  • Space and satellites
  • Unmanned aerial vehicles
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Automotive
  • Autonomous vehicles
  • Electric vehicles
  • Engines
Biotechnology
  • Antibody engineering
  • Antibody manufacture and formulation
  • Bioinformatics
  • Biosimilars
  • Drug delivery
  • Gene editing (e.g. CRISPR)
  • Genomic and molecular tools and methods
  • GM crops
  • Immuno-oncology (e.g. checkpoint inhibitors; modified T cells)
  • Next generation sequencing
  • Nucleic acid synthesis
  • Personalised medicine/disease biomarkers
  • Recombinant protein production and purification
  • Stem cell therapies
  • Supplementary protection certificates (SPCs)
  • Synthetic biology
  • Therapeutic antibodies
  • Vaccinology (e.g. viral vectors; mRNA vaccines)
  • Women’s health products
Chemicals
  • Agrochemicals
  • Catalysts
  • Dispersions and colloids
  • Lubricants
  • Polymers and plastics
Communications and Networks
  • Cloud computing
  • Internet of things (IOT)
  • Oceanography, marine
  • Wired and wireless networks
Computing and Software
  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning
  • Bioinformatics
  • Blockchain and distributed ledgers
  • Communications and networks
  • Computer games
  • Data and software security, cryptography and digital rights management (DRM)
  • Data management and storage, databases and data compression
  • Digital assistants, virtual assistants and software agents
  • Fintech and adtech
  • Machine vision
  • Metaverse, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)
  • Motor capture
  • Multimedia, audio/video processing and animation
  • Natural language processing
  • Quantum computing
  • Robotic process automation
  • Search engines
  • Signal processing
  • Software applications and systems, mobile applications, user interfaces
Consumer Goods and Retail
  • Anti-counterfeit devices
  • Beauty
  • Fashion
  • Health, fitness and sport
  • Household goods
  • Luxury goods
  • Moda
  • Retail
Electronics and Electrical Devices
  • Computer and IT architecture and system design
  • Medical devices
  • Optics
  • Restaurants and bars
  • Robotics
  • Scientific instruments
  • Semiconductor devices
  • Testing systems, control systems, signal processing
  • Travel and leisure
  • Wearable tech and human interfaces
Energy and Green Technologies
  • Biofuels
  • Clean air
  • Fuel cells and battery technology
  • Renewables and recycling
  • Solar power
  • Water, oil and gas, nuclear, fusion, fission
  • Wind turbines
Food and Beverage
  • Beverages
  • Nutrition
  • Retail
Industrial Manufacturing and Processing
  • Packaging
  • Polymers and plastics
  • Printing tech
  • Additive manufacturing
  • Coatings
  • Construction
Materials
  • Advanced materials
  • Composite materials
  • Metallurgy and alloys
  • Nanotechnology
Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Devices
  • Diagnostic instruments
  • Digital health
  • Drug delivery
  • Immuno-oncology
  • In vitro diagnostics
  • Medtech
Pharmaceuticals
  • Diagnostics
  • Drug delivery
  • Generic market entry
  • Medicinal chemistry
  • Methods of production and synthesis
  • Personalised medicine/disease biomarkers
  • Pharmaceutical formulations
  • Pharmaceuticalsceutical formulations
  • Polymorphs
  • Small molecule pharmaceuticals
  • Supplementary protection certificates (SPCs)
Trade Marks
  • Consumer goods
  • Cosmetics and perfumery
  • Financial services
  • Mechanical engineering
  • Mechanical products
  • Services
  • Telecommunications