TTAB: Booty Calls and the Call of Duty

Jun 26, 2018 | Written by Christina Simpson, ESQ. | 2 min read

Everyone is familiar with the very famous video game series, Call of Duty ®, and its many sub-series and spin-off games.  It’s latest release being, Call of Duty: WWII ® on November 3, 2017. Well, back in July, a Ms. Julie Sawicki, filed a trademark application for the mark CALL OF BOOTY for women’s clothing, namely shirts, dresses, skirts, and blouses.  Ms. Sawicki apparently owns the company “420 Goddess” which offers cannabis products and accessories for sale. Needless to say, on December 1, 2017, Activision Publishing Inc., the owner of the world-wide known video game CALL OF DUTY® and its trademarks, filed opposition against registering the mark CALL OF BOOTY.

In addition to holding trademark registrations in various goods and services for the gaming software, Activision also holds registrations for various items of clothing including jackets, hoodies, socks, gloves, and pants. Activision argues that by allowing the mark CALL OF BOOTY to be registered, it undoubtedly will cause the public to be confused into believing that the marks are associated because the mark will mainly be displayed on the same kinds of goods and services.  Activision believes that, “the intrinsic nature of the wording in [CALL OF BOOTY], by denotation and connotation, besmirches, and thereby tarnishes, the fame, goodwill and reputation associated with the [CALL OF DUTY] Marks.” Activision's Notice of Opposition Filed 12/1/17, pg. 6.  

One cannot blame Activision for not wanting any parts of CALL OF BOOTY, because from a PR perspective there are many potential issues.  Among them are being potentially associated with the marijuana industry and being associated with a “booty” product.  It will be interesting to see how Ms. Sawicki attempts to differentiate the marks, especially considering that she herself is an admitted Call of Duty ® fan.