Austin Theory, the WWE United States Champion, has been calling himself “The Now,” but two independent wrestlers are offended by that and have written WWE two cease-and-desist letters to stop them from using the term.
For years, Vik Dalishus and Hale Collins have been competing on the independent circuit using that name, which they assert they own.
Vik Dalishus explained their disbelief in an interview with the Hudson Valley Post given that they have had it copyrighted since 2006:
“My initial reaction was shock, because of the fact that we have had it copyrighted since 2006, and there’s many people in WWE who know Hale and I, know our names, and know we own it. After shock goes away, we decided to reach out.
“We consulted with some friends who knew about the situation professionally and we were guided to an awesome lawyer named Mike Dockins, ‘the gimmick attorney’ who specializes in trademarks. We have sent two cease and desist letters to WWE, they acknowledged one and said they would look into it. Looking into it doesn’t stop it from being on TV.
“Our next step is a lawsuit for trademark infringement and creating confusion in the marketplace.”
Will Austin Theory and WWE have to back down from this gimmick?
