Jacking the Jockey: Trademark Bully Strikes Again
By: Tanisia Moore, Esq.
Just when you thought that your dream had manifested…The day you hit center stage to present your creation. The project that kept you up late nights and into the wee hours of the morning. The one that kept you from kicking it with your people. The one that wiped out your savings. THE ONE…The one to change your life. Then, the unthinkable happens – Robbed of your creation and wrongfully accused of infringing upon another. But, it looks like the accuser is the real thief. You snap! You’ve drawn a line in the sand and won’t let anyone take your hard work, without recourse.
THE STARTING GATE
This is the current battle between Darnell Cooper—fashion designer of Black Jockey Clothing and Jockey International. In 2006, Cooper, began his fashion design journey introducing Black Jockey Clothing. In anticipation of the growth of his line, in 2010, he took critical steps to protect his brand, which included trademark registration. But, Jockey thwarted Cooper’s plans when it filed a trademark proceeding challenging Cooper’s right to registration alleging his trademark infringed upon theirs. With limited funds and sense of defeat, Cooper stood down. Because without the financial means to defend his intellectual property rights, Jockey would win this round.
RIGGING THE SYSTEM: GAINING A COMPETITIVE EDGE
Unbeknownst to Cooper, the following year, Jockey began, what Cooper’s attorney believes to be a scheme to deprive Cooper of his intellectual property rights by creating new trademarks and clothing designs bearing a striking resemblance to Cooper’s 2006 designs. Jockey took it a step further by trademarking the same designs alleged to be copied from Cooper’s trademarks. Cooper’s attorney claims Jockey engaged in unfair competition (economic injury to a business through deceptive or wrongful business practices) calculated to prevent the Black Jockey brand from thriving.
GOING THE DISTANCE AND TACKLING HURDLES
Fast forward to 2018, Cooper decided to register another trademark he’d been using since 2006. And, in 2019, again, Jockey challenged Cooper alleging that his 2006 design —which appears to have served as “inspiration” for Jockey’s 2011 and later created designs – was infringing. With respect to Jockey’s earlier created designs, while they claim infringement, it appears that Jockey stopped using them over 13 years before bringing suit. When Cooper discovered that Jockey’s designs looked like they might be rip-offs of his designs, he knew he couldn’t go down without a fight. Despite Jockey engaging in unsavory legal tactics and having deep pockets to go the distance, bowing out wasn’t an option. Cooper suited up for what he knew would be a long-fought battle.
At every turn, Cooper has pushed back against Jockey’s bullying – stooping so low as using one black man’s senseless and near tragic death at the hands of police to delay producing documents and prolong the proceedings. When that failed, Jockey served almost 4000 additional documents on the eve of trial to burden Cooper with mountains of paperwork and legal fees. Then, five days before trial, Jockey attempted to add eight new claims which would’ve set the two-year case back to day one. Fortunately, the trademark office didn’t buy it – Jockey’s new claims – DENIED. These and other unsavory tactics employed by Jockey have clearly been used to force Cooper to exhaust his financial resources and capitulate to their demands. Cooper, says, “I won’t let anyone kill my vision. I won’t let anyone kill my passion. I’ve got this monster in front of me, but we’re going to do whatever we need to do to get them out the way.”
PLACE YOUR BET: BET ON BLACK…BLACK JOCKEY
Cooper’s situation, unfortunately, is all too common. He’s adamant about seeing this through because Black Jockey isn’t just another clothing brand, it’s a testament and tribute to the black men who dominated the sport in the late 19th and early 20th centuries before Jim Crow and physical intimidation resulted in their expulsion from the sport and erasure from history. It is a commemoration of the past and reminder to African-Americans of the legacy from whence they came. It is no coincidence that the birth of Black Jockey began in the same place that Harriet Tubman led the slaves to freedom—Buffalo, New York. While Cooper doesn’t purport to be a “Harriet Tubman,” his persistence, courage, and unwavering stance against a system of economic oppression – not designed for black or small businesses and one denying them opportunities, is without a question indisputable. But, unlike the 1904 ban against black jockeys, Black Jockey Clothing won’t be overcome by its oppressor, Jockey International. There will be no erasure in this case. Cooper doesn’t intend to let history repeat itself. No, Black Jockey is here to stay. Darnell Cooper and Black Jockey Clothing won’t go down without a fight.
TweetAbout the Author
Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.
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