WWE News: WWE's Trademark Claim To "Broken Hardys" Gimmick Denied

What's the story?

The ongoing saga between The Hardys/WWE and Anthem over who owns the trademark to the "Broken Hardys" gimmick has been almost as riveting as the gimmick itself. In the most recent development, WWE's claim towards the trademark have been denied. However, that's not all bad news for WWE or the Hardys.

In case you didn't know...

There's probably no need to rehash the entire story between these two. To sum up, both parties have made claims to the ownership of the gimmick since the brothers left the now-GFW promotion at the start of the year. GFW's owner, Anthem, made a trademark claim for the gimmick recently, which was denied.

The heart of the matter

Most recently. the WWE made a similar claim, which was also denied. However, the reasons for the refusal are different. In this instance, WWE's claim interferes with Matt Hardy's own previous claim. While the WWE wants rights to the claim in order to let Matt and Jeff use the gimmick in their promotion, it technically interferes with Matt's earlier filing.

What's next?

The Hardys have now given permission to WWE to file a new claim on their behalf, which was missing originally. All WWE has to do is then make another attempt to claim under these conditions, which would, at the very least, allow the claim go through. No word as of yet in regards to when that claim will be made. But, it's a start, especially considering how wonky legal proceedings in the US can be.

Author's take

At first glance, this might seem like a blow to the WWE and Hardy's claim, but in reality, it's just a sidestep. All things considered, it's a good omen for their chances, since the reason for their claim being dropped is a circumstance under their control. In the meantime, look for the WWE and the Hardys to continue using "workarounds" during their TV appearance - i.e,, the Hardys are now "Woken" instead of "Broken", etc. - until this is settled.