8 most unusual trademarks by WWE

WWE has a very aggressive approach when it comes to intellectual property. Whenever the creative department comes up with a new idea or something they want to promote, their legal department goes into full attack mode, trying to trademark and protect whatever it is the company has come up with.

While this approach is completely logical from a business standpoint, it does come across as paranoid and obsessive when you take a step back and look at it more closely. WWE is basically trying to take any idea they come up with and claim to own it 100%.

This is done to prevent anyone else from using anything they’ve created, and if someone does try to even pay tribute or use some of their ideas through creative licensing and fair use, WWE tends to respond in the most hostile way imaginable.

At the same time, there are some ideas, words and concepts that WWE has tried to trademark that have either failed, or were so ridiculous and over the top that one couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow or turn their head in confusion.

Here are eight of the most unusual trademarks by WWE.

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#8 ‘Child proof’

Somehow the idea of 'child proof WWE toys' doesn't sound like it'll sell very much

According to trademarkia.com, an online site that shows applications for trademarks, WWE had tried to trademark this term three times in 2013.

The first was for a professional wrestling show targeted at children, the second was for a line of action figures and toys also marketed towards children, and the third was for apparel (i.e. pajamas, clothes, jackets, etc.) also geared towards children.

What makes this so unusual is that the actual name is counterintuitive to what WWE was going for. Imagine trying to convince someone to say the phrase, ‘I want to buy those child proof toys for my child.’

That would be both confusing and paradoxical, since the word ‘childproof’ without the spacing means something that cannot be used or tampered with by children. Clearly, someone wasn’t paying much attention to logic when this trademark was proposed.

#7 'Stiff upper lip'

This is what a stiff upper lip looks like; not really the picture of excitement, is it?

This unusual trademark was filed for and abandoned by WWE in 2007. The trademark application was for ‘entertainment services’ related to the wrestling profession, yet seems to be completely contradictory to the nature of pro wrestling itself.

The expression ‘stiff upper lip’ is popular mainly in Great Britain, and is used to describe someone who ‘keeps a stiff upper lip’ by showing restraint in trying to show emotion. In other words, it describes someone who goes to great lengths to be as stone-faced and void of emotion as possible.

The reason that this concept is anathema to wrestling is because wrestling is all about emotion. Wrestling matches are supposed to be stories that draw people in and get them to invest their emotions in the stories that unfold inside a wrestling ring.

So for WWE to try and trademark an expression that’s widespread in an entire country that has nothing to do with wrestling itself shows just how much the company must love playing with intellectual property laws.

#6 ‘Divalicious’

When Vince McMahon starts with an idea, he follows with it until it's been driven into the ground

In 2013, WWE applied to trademark this term seven different times to describe seven different types of items. They wanted to use this term for, among other things: a TV show, clothing designed for children, music and ringtones, action figures, packaging and wrapping paper, different kinds of bags and luggage and personal hygiene products.

Clearly, these all came together back when the term ‘Diva’ was at its most popular in WWE boardrooms and the company was trying desperately to sell anything that could be remotely related to its ‘WWE Divas’.

Ironically, WWE has since distanced itself completely from the ‘Divas’ moniker, and hasn’t been promoting the Total Divas show as aggressively as they used to. Perhaps that’s for the better, as in the regular world, the word ‘diva’ has a very negative connotation whenever it’s used.

#5 'Avalanche'

There are some words that shouldn't be used in a wrestling context, and this is arguably one of them

WWE tried to trademark the term ‘avalanche’ in 2011, but the circumstances of the trademark application are a bit vague. The general description only mentions ‘entertainment services in the nature of wrestling contests, personal appearances by a wrestler, etc.’, without any additional information.

It’s unusual because, a) the term avalanche is already used in wrestling (for example, the term ‘body avalanche’ to describe a big wrestler falling on another); and b) it’s one of those things that could suffer from unintentional double entendre very easily.

Imagine reading the following headline: “Avalanche kills thirty in French Alps”. That’s likely to cause confusion for people possibly looking for the term ‘avalanche’ in a wrestling-related context. Simply put, it’s one of those unusual trademarks that simply don’t make sense.

#4 'Bella Glam/Bella Style/Bella Body'

There was a time when these two women were the two most heavily-pushed figures in all of WWE

It’s no secret that WWE still thinks very highly of the Bella Twins. The duo have become ‘celebrities’ of sorts thanks to being the stars of two WWE-centric reality TV shows, and thus the company’s higher-ups have sought to make as much money off their growing popularity as possible.

To that end, WWE have trademarked several terms associated with the ‘Bella’ name, which includes various merchandise items, fitness-related products, and even baby products and aromatherapy materials.

This shows the lengths to which WWE is trying to enter other, non-wrestling-related markets: by capitalizing on any popularity one of their stars gets, the company will then seek to trademark – and therefore protect – any name and likeness associated with that star that they’ve created.

Whether this particular entry succeeds for WWE remains to be seen, however.

#3 'WWEmoji'

There are so many different emojis nowadays that adding new ones would only complicate things further

This unusual trademark appears to be WWE’s attempt to cash in on the now-widespread popularity of emojis in modern communication. Basically, WWE wants to create their own emojis that would be related to their product, possibly as a means of getting people to use their favorite wrestlers in text messages instead of, you know, correct grammar.

Emojis have become commonplace almost everywhere, but they are not without their flaws. They can be misinterpreted very easily, and someone who uses emojis to fill in the place of actual words can send a completely different message from the one they had perhaps intended.

If WWE were to actually get one of their ‘WWEmojis’ launched, you can only imagine how ridiculous and confusing future text conversations would look.

#2 '3:16'

Austin 3:16 is one of the most iconic catchphrases in wrestling history

This trademark appears to have been done for the sole purpose of creating merchandise with the expression ‘3:16’ included. On one hand, it makes sense because WWE made a fortune off merchandise with ‘Austin 3:16’ written on it, given that it was Austin’s signature catchphrase.

However, trademarking the numbers alone is bizarre for a number of reasons. First, the numbers alone could be used to describe the time, so anything with these numbers written in this way on it could be infringing on WWE’s trademark.

Secondly, 3:16 itself has religious connotations, as multiple religions have references to passage 3:16 in them. In other words, WWE better have a solid legal case if they try and sue someone who has the words ‘John 3:16’ written on a piece of clothing, for example.

#1 ‘Too Sweet’ and the ‘Wolfpac hand gesture

WWE doesn't even own this trademark, yet they still caused problems for other wrestlers

This is the most controversial of WWE’s unusual trademarks. WWE filed for this trademark in 2015, but has since abandoned it. That hasn’t stopped them, however, from threatening The Young Bucks with lawsuits if the famous tag team keep using the gesture on their merchandise and in their promos, despite having received a blessing from the original NWO members to do so.

This entry is unusual for two reasons. First, the actual hand gesture itself was not created by the New World Order, but was taken from something they had seen in Turkey.

Secondly, WWE essentially threatened legal action for a trademark that they didn’t even own, which is something that has been interpreted as WWE using their legal department to prevent others from using ideas that they’ve come up with themselves (despite WWE attempting to do the same many times in the past).