The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has accepted an application from Jets QB Tim Tebow to trademark “Tebowing, his signature prayer,” according to Brian Lewis of the N.Y. POST. The application was “filed by Tebow’s marketing arm, XV Enterprises Limited; although he insists it isn’t about marketing or even money, but controlling the message.” Tebow does not “expect to profit himself off the trademark, but if he does, any money would go toward his Tim Tebow Foundation.” Tebow said, “It’s something I do that’s prayer for me and it got hyped as Tebowing." Lewis noted while Tebow was with the Broncos last season, "Tebowing" merchandise “started flooding the market, although without flooding his coffers.” While Tebow’s trademark “won’t keep people from Tebowing, it will keep anybody else from profiting from it” (NYPOST.com, 10/19). BLOOMBERG NEWS' Nancy Kercheval reported the trademark gives Tebow “approval to use ‘Tebowing’ on hats, shirts, T-shirts, as well as jewelry, clocks, watches, cuff links, tie pins, ornamental pins and holiday ornaments of precious metals.” Rockets G Jeremy Lin last year similarly “secured a trademark for ‘Linsanity’” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 10/20). YAHOO SPORTS’ Doug Farrar wrote, “From a marketing perspective, we suppose Tebow has a point.” There has been “a flood of Tebowing-related merchandise on the market, and his representatives sent letters of protest after two different companies -- Tebowing.com and TebowingGear.com -- filed patent requests last year” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/20).
NOT WORKING OUT YET: Tebow had just four rushes and no pass attempts in yesterday's game against the Patriots, continuing a trend of Tebow seeing limited playing time this season. Time magazine's Sean Gregory said of the Jets acquiring Tebow during the offseason, “The publicity might have been a part of it, but the Jets attendance isn’t skyrocketing, isn’t off the charts. So it totally hasn’t worked on that end” (“CBS This Morning,” CBS, 10/20).
