VCU Finally Files HAVOC Federal Mark Registration Applications

Posted on June 8, 2015.

VCU finally filed some federal mark registration applications for its HAVOC mark.

On May 5, VCU filed two applications:

Mark: HAVOC LIVES HERE
For these services: Entertainment services, namely, providing college basketball events; entertainment services, namely, providing college basketball games and events rendered live and via a global computer network, via wireless and mobile devices, via television and radio.

Mark: HAVOC
For these services: Entertainment services, namely, providing college basketball events; entertainment services, namely, providing college basketball games and events rendered live and via a global computer network, via wireless and mobile devices, via television and radio.

And on May 8, it filed two more applications:

Mark: HAVOC LIVES HERE
For these services: Clothing, namely, shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, caps, and shorts.

Mark: IT’S HAVOC YOU FEAR
For these services: Clothing, namely, shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, caps, and shorts.

VCU should get an initial response from the United States Patent and Trademark Office sometime between mid-August and the end of September as to whether the Trademark Office believes there are any problems with these applications.

The Trademark Office will be assessing whether these applications are too similar to other registered marks and marks for which applications were previously submitted.

It would not take an exact match to block VCU’s applications. The test is whether the similarity of the marks, and the similarity of the goods and services, is so close that consumers might be confused.

There are many issued registrations and pending applications containing the word “havoc.” It’s possible VCU will have problems getting its marks registered. We’ll see.