Though Snoop Dogg partnered up with an Ontario marijuana production company earlier this year, he also has his own line of weed-related products on the market under the name Leafs by Snoop. Now, a Toronto pro sports company has started a legal tug-of-war with the Doggfather over a bid to trademark his business.
Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment — the parent company of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, AHL's Toronto Marlies, NBA's Toronto Raptors and MLS's Toronto FC — filed an opposition to Snoop's product logo on June 8, asking the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office for more time to detail its opposition.
Snoop Dogg initially filed his trademark application for Leafs by Snoop last November, the same month his line of products was released in Colorado head shops.
"The Maple Leafs might say that their brand has been tarnished by confusion over Snoop's new logo," NYU intellectual properties professor Christopher Sprigman told Canadian sports network TSN. "That's quaint but a tough argument. I don't see a lot of overlap between Colorado pot smokers and Maple Leafs fans."
MLSE spokesman Dave Haggith declined to comment to TSN. Snoop's lawyer Lawrence Apolzon did not return a call to TSN.
Meanwhile, Snoop is set to release his new album Coolaid on July 1 via Doggy Style Records/Entertainment One Music.
Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment — the parent company of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, AHL's Toronto Marlies, NBA's Toronto Raptors and MLS's Toronto FC — filed an opposition to Snoop's product logo on June 8, asking the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office for more time to detail its opposition.
Snoop Dogg initially filed his trademark application for Leafs by Snoop last November, the same month his line of products was released in Colorado head shops.
"The Maple Leafs might say that their brand has been tarnished by confusion over Snoop's new logo," NYU intellectual properties professor Christopher Sprigman told Canadian sports network TSN. "That's quaint but a tough argument. I don't see a lot of overlap between Colorado pot smokers and Maple Leafs fans."
MLSE spokesman Dave Haggith declined to comment to TSN. Snoop's lawyer Lawrence Apolzon did not return a call to TSN.
Meanwhile, Snoop is set to release his new album Coolaid on July 1 via Doggy Style Records/Entertainment One Music.
