Here Come the Trademark Judges to Protect Yankees’ Superstar Judge

A trademark board has granted New York Yankees’ star outfielder Aaron Judge and the Major League Baseball Players Association a win in a trademark tussle with a Long Island man who wanted to use the phrases “All Rise” and “Here Comes the Judge” on t-shirts and other clothing.

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has denied Michael P. Chisena’s applications to trademark the two phrases that embrace both judicial and surname meanings, finding that the baseball star and the MLBPA have a protectable property right in the terms.

Judge and the MLBPA argued that Chisena’s marks would create confusion and a false suggestion of connection with Judge and amount to use of his name without his consent. They noted that since 2016, the media, fans, and the Yankees have played on his surname and that Judge is the only member of a Major League baseball team with a surname that has a judicial or legal connotation.

Also, with Judge’s approval, the MLBPA noted that it has licensed numerous third-party licensees to use word marks, with and without design marks, referring to Judge on apparel and merchandize. These products typically include phrases associated with the legal and judicial system, such as “All Rise” and “Here Comes the Judge” and judicial symbols, such as a gavel, courthouse image, or the scales of justice.

Chisena claimed that his trademark bids were not about the Yankees’ star or the MLB, rather he said he was interested in cross-marketing a batting practice tee he had designed with a baseball-themed line of clothing, and started designing potential product samples in a digital format showing “All Rise” and “Here Comes the Judge” in 2015.

He said he is not a baseball fan and when he filed his trademark applications, he was not aware of any usage of the marks ‘All Rise’ and ‘Here Comes the Judge’ by Judge or the Yankees.

The connection with baseball, he explained, was that “baseball is governed by rules and umpires similar to a courtroom proceeding is governed by laws and judges.”

However, the board noted the coincidence that his searches for trademarks and filing of applications coincided with major events in Judge’s baseball career including the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby.

The board, which is part of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, found that Chisena’s proposed use and design of the phrases so closely resembles the previously-used common law marks by Judge and the player association in their licensing agreements and marketing that they would likely cause confusion, mistake or deception.

The phrases have been used regularly in baseball. For his first Major League home run on August 13, 2016, the Yankees radio play-by-play announcer said “here’s Aaron Judge! Here comes the Judge!” Barely two months into his rookie season, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, the article entitled “All Rise! The Yankees Youth Movement is in Session. The Powerful Aaron Judge Presiding.”

In May 2017, Yankee Stadium opened The Judge’s Chamber —three rows behind Judge in right field position in which 18 fans are given black judge’s robe t-shirts with his number 99 on the back and a foam gavel with “All Rise” on it.

Photo: New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge reacts after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants at Yankee Stadium Thursday, March 30, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Topics Legislation