Tiger Woods' new venture facing challenge over logo: 'Unlawfully hijack[ed]'

Tiger Woods' new golf apparel brand, Sun Day Red, is embroiled in a dispute over the alleged similarity of its trademark to an existing brand. Tigeraire, which produces a range of cooling products for athletics and industry, is challenging Sun Day Red's logo. According to its Notice of Opposition filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Tigeraire alleges that Woods' Sun Day Red and TaylorMade are "unlawfully hijacking" Tigeraire's existing logo.

“The actions of SDR, TaylorMade and Tiger Woods blatantly ignore Tigeraire’s long-standing protected mark, brand and identity, violate federal and state intellectual property law, and disregard the consumer confusion their actions create. SDR’s application should be denied.”

TaylorMade, which produces the Sun Day Red brand, said in a statement, “We have full confidence in the securitization of our trademarks.”

Tigeraire's opposition stems from the fact that it has used the image of a leaping tiger for four years. The company alleges that the logo of Sun Day Red, which launched in May, bears a striking resemblance to Tigeraire's own logo, as noted below:

"SDR — a venture between renowned golfer Tiger Woods and corporate giant TaylorMade — seeks to increase its sales and profits by unlawfully hijacking Tigeraire’s registered design into its own branding," the company charges in its filing.

Tigeraire's small size relative to the reach of Woods made matching the reach of the logo impossible, Tigeraire charges. "Applicant (SDR/TaylorMade) has leveraged its massive size, marketing dollars, and collaboration between legendary golfer Tiger Woods and TaylorMade to saturate the marketplace with advertisements and promotions incorporating its nearly identical leaping tiger logo, ensuring that the media and general public quickly would come to associate the confusingly similar Applicant’s Marks with the Registered Mark. Though Opposer invested heavily in the marketing and promotion of its trademarks, including its Registered Mark, it could not come close to matching Applicant’s ability to reach so many consumers in such a small amount of time."

According to Tigeraire, the marketplace confusion has already happened; individuals wearing Tigeraire's logo were allegedly approached at the 2024 Masters asking how they had already obtained Sun Day Red merchandise.

Sun Day Red, the name, is a tribute to the red apparel that Woods wears on every Sunday of contention. Sun Day Red, the logo, is a tribute to the 15 majors that Woods has won, with 15 stripes on the logo's tiger image.

With the filing of the Notice of Opposition, Sun Day Red, Woods and TaylorMade now have 40 days to respond.