Dustin Johnson is in charge of the 4Aces LIV Golf team, but his franchise have been hit with a legal complaint from the University of Alabama over their logo
Dustin Johnson leads the 4Aces
Dustin Johnson’s LIV Golf team, the 4Aces, are in a legal tussle with the University of Alabama over their franchise logo design. Johnson leads one of the 13 teams competing in the LIV setup, alongside Patrick Reed, Pat Perez, and Harold Varner III.
The team is currently preparing for the LIV Andalucia in Spain, ahead of next week’s Open Championship. However, off the course, Johnson’s attention will be on the legal issues his franchise is facing after the University of Alabama filed a complaint about their trademark application.
According to sports law attorney John Nucci, the University claims that the ‘A’ in the 4Aces logo bears too much resemblance to Alabama’s trademark. Nucci shared on X (formerly Twitter): “The University of Alabama has filed an opposition to LIV’s ‘4 Aces’ trademark application.
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“Arguing that: The 4 Aces design contains the ‘same literal element’ as Alabama’s, and the style of the letter ‘is visually similar to and creates a commercial impression similar to’ the Alabama design. LIV has faced other trademark challenges from Adidas and Fallen Footwear.”
Mirror Sport has reached out to both the 4Aces and the University of Alabama for commented. As pointed out by the lawyer, this isn’t the first time LIV Golf has been hit with a trademark challenge, with Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers team facing a similar predicament last year.
Cool Brands Supply – an Argentine firm that holds the intellectual property rights to Fallen Footwear – initiated the complaint. Lawyers for Fallen Footwear at the time claimed: “The similarities between the two marks, particularly when used on clothing, are striking, and are confusing consumers and causing damage to Plaintiff’s senior mark and brand.
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The 4Aces have enjoyed plenty of success (
Image:
Getty Images)
“Plaintiff previously demanded that Defendants cease use of their infringing logo, and they refused.” Eventually, Mickelson and his team were compelled to revamp their HyFlyers logo, which initially featured two letter f’s positioned back-to-back. Following the disagreement, it has been altered, with the branding now primarily centred on the letter H.
Johnson and his squad have enjoyed while donning the 4Aces brand. In 2022, the former Masters champion was named the league’s inaugural individual champion, winning the season-long race, as well as clinching the double by securing the Team Championship with the 4Aces.
A year on, Johnson was eyeing a consecutive win with his team after topping the team standings at the end of the regular season. However, they were narrowly beaten by Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers, who clinched the 2023 team championship in Miami last October.
