Bill Belichick’s Taylor Swift-inspired trademark requests denied

If you were hoping to get a “Do Your Job (Bill’s Version)” t-shirt to support Bill Belichick, you’re going to have to settle for a knockoff.

According to trademark attorney Josh Gerben, the United States Trademark and Patent Office has denied Belichick’s filings for multiple trademarks, including the following:

• DO YOUR JOB (BILL’S VERSION)
• NO DAYS OFF (BILL’S VERSION)
• IGNORE THE NOISE (BILL’S VERSION)

News of the denials comes two weeks after it was first reported that Belichick’s company, TCE Rights Management LLC, had also filed a trademark for the phrase “gold digger.” TCE Rights Management is managed by the 6-time Super Bowl champion head coach’s 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson. That application appears to still be pending.

As for why the previous requests were denied, the reasoning appears to be pretty straightforward. As noted by Gerben, the aforementioned phrases are already trademarked by Belichick’s former employer, the New England Patriots, and the Taylor Swift-inspired (Bill’s Version) additions clearly weren’t enough to sway the USPTO.

“The incorporation of an entire mark within another has often been found to increase the similarity between the compared marks where, as in the present case, the dominant portion of the marks is the same,” the USPTO wrote in its refusal of the trademarks, which were intended for use “across a wide range of goods and services, including clothing, keychains, books, television programs, and podcasts,” according to Gerben.

The denial of the trademarks — and the reasoning behind them — adds a new layer to the ongoing feud between Belichick and the Patriots that has emerged since his departure from the franchise following the 2023 season. Last week, the North Carolina head coach made headlines by banning New England scouts from the Tar Heels’ facility. But while Belichick has claimed the decision came in response to him not being welcomed at the Patriots’ facility, New England head coach Mike Vrabel — who played for Belichick — has denied that’s the case, pointing to his former coach’s presence at a recent celebration of Tom Brady.