LIV Golf Denied Trademarks, Gets Sued By LIV Nightclub In Miami, Much To The Delight Of PGA Fans

The L’s just keep on coming for LIV Golf.

After drawing less than 300,000 viewers both Saturday and Sunday during its American television debut on The CW a couple of weeks ago, the fledgling golf tour took another hit in court.

Recently, according to trademark attorney Josh Gerben, LIV Golf made an attempt to register trademarks, but was blocked and sued by the famed LIV nightclub in Miami.

“In court filings, @LIVmiami claims that LIV Golf’s trademarks should not be registered because the trademarks … are visually similar, are phonetically and aurally similar, share similar goods/services,” Gerben tweeted on Tuesday.

“The court filings go on to claim that the @LIVmiami trademarks: (1) are licensed across the globe, (2) have been in use for 15 years.”

The nightclub certainly isn’t wrong there. The photo above is from 2011 and LIV nightclub is well-known enough to have hosted the 2022 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards.

“Both companies derived their names from the Roman Numeral, LIV which translates to 54,” Josh Gerben continued.

“The nightclub’s location was built in 1954 and it has been referred to as Miami’s Studio 54.

“There are 54 holes played at each tournament in the LIV Golf tour.

“The court filing concludes that: (1) consumers will believe the LIV Golf trademarks are affiliated with or endorsed by @LIVmiami, (2) the registration of the LIV Golf trademarks will dilute the distinctive quality of the @LIVmiami trademarks.

The entire Notice of Opposition is available here.

On a more personal note, Gerben tweeted, “It would seem that a nightclub and a golf league would be able to find a way to co-exist. Nevertheless, I’m sure some folks from the PGA Tour are cheering on @LIVmiami’s efforts.”

He would be very correct in that assessment.

“Extremely similar logos, names, and pronunciations, couple with the fact that LIV Golf conducts 15% of its operations in Miami and nearby(ish) Orlando,” another person tweeted. “And considering LIV Golf’s attempts to make their fan experience like a nightclub, seems confusion is possible.”

“They will just play the dude millions,” someone else tweeted, echoing the thoughts of many.

That was probably the initial thought of many people when the LIV Golf tour was first announced.

“Perfect opportunity to change the name to LXXII Golf,” another golf fan joked.