Another one for WWE showing how much they care about the industry..

General
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Just another gross tactic… And literally one of the most petty.

WWE FILES NEW TRADEMARK BOUND TO UPSET INDEPENDENT WRESTLING FANS
by Mike Johnson @ 11:35 AM on 12/19/2020

WWE filed a trademark on 12/15 for the name “The Collective”, noting it was for good and services in the realm of “Wrestling exhibitions and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer rendered live and through broadcast media including television and radio, and via the internet or commercial online service; providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; providing information in the fields of sports via an online community portal.”

Independent wrestling fans will undoubtedly recognize The Collective as the umbrella title for a collective of independent events that have been held since 2018, usually over the course of Wrestlemania weekend, although in 2020 the weekend gathering was held this past October in Indianapolis.

The Collective event has been spearheaded by New Jersey’s Game Changer Wrestling since its inception, featuring numerous events including Joey Janela’s Spring Break, Absolute Intense Wrestling, Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport, SHIMMER and many other promotions. PWInsider.com can confirm that there had already been plans by GCW to move forward with a 2021 edition of The Collective weekend.

Certainly independent wrestling fans loyal to these and other promotions that have forged an alternative wrestling destination weekend won’t be happy with the trademark filing and one would think that GCW would at least have the ability to argue first use in business for the Collective term, if they choose to do so.

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We’re not in the wrestling industry, pal.

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I’m not familiar with how copyrights work on common phrases, but this seems like it would affect a lot of things way outside of the wrestling world. Like, if they tried to claim " the universe" instead of " the WWE universe" it would be laughed out of court. Hopefully.

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I actually think “The Collective” would be a decent stable name. So if they were to use it for something decent, I dont care.

You know this wont be a bad thing for GCW or whoever was involved with these shows. The fans will only get more behind them, because of this. So I see this as a good thing.

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I think if anybody tried to use the term “universe” in relation to professional wrestling - that would be an issue. I imagine.

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Not the issue, but nobody thought to get a copyright for that? Bunch of carnies…

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I agree. This is a glaring issue. However, no matter how you look at it, WWE is clearly being petty and targetting GCW. A company that 362 days of the year aren’t even on their radar, and it’s only due to the success of their Mania weekend shows that they’re doing this.

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