Tom Brady’s Trademark Filing For ‘Tom Terrific’ Rejected After Backlash

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decided to reject New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s bid to trademark the phrase “Tom Terrific,” as noted in a public filling on Thursday.

TB12’s request was denied, because “the applied-for mark consists of or includes matter which may falsely suggest a connection with Tom Seaver.”

“Although Tom Seaver is not connected with the goods provided by applicant under the applied-for mark, Tom Seaver is so well-known that consumers would presume a connection,” the ruling states.

“As such, the applied-for mark TOM TERRIFIC is refused because it identifies a name of a particular living individual whose written consent to register is not of record.”

The New York Mets star and Baseball Hall of Fame inductee held the nickname “Tom Terrific” during and after his brilliant professional career.

Brady has half a year to respond to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s decision, the filing suggests. If he decides not to respond, his application will be “abandoned.”

The GOAT faced serious backlash earlier this summer. Critics argued that the Patriots quarterback wanted to steal the nickname from the MLB legend. Brady filed to trademark “Tom Terrific” for use in his T-shirts and trading cards.

Brady doesn’t like the idea that his filing triggered controversy. He explained that the only reason he had to pursue the trademark was to stop people from calling him “Tom Terrific.”

“It’s unfortunate. I was actually trying to do something because I didn’t like the nickname and I wanted to make sure no one used it because some people wanted to use it,” Brady told reporters at the time. “So I was trying to keep people from using it, and then it got spun around into something different than what it was. Good lesson learned, and I’ll try to do things a little different in the future.”

New York state lawmakers Steve King and Tom Suozzi joined the mass of critics who bashed Brady publicly. But, Brady is used to this and much more. He is criticized on a daily basis, and words can’t change the way he perceives things. It’s so bad when some people’s only goal in life is to criticize others.