There are fans, and then there are fans that wish to assist you in dealing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). According to Futurism, this is exactly what one devoted Tesla fan did.
On December 28, Tesla supporter Jerome Eady submitted a trademark application with Tesla, described as the trademark proprietor for “not for land vehicles.”
The trademark would provide the company with generic IP protection, allowing it to sell a Tesla-branded product that was protected by this trademark application and subsequently sue anybody who used its name to sell such a thing.
According to the trademark filing application page, the application covers “asynchronous motors not for land vehicles,” which includes airplane and boat engines.
A company’s trademark registrations typically indicate its intentions to expand into other products. As a result, news sources began claiming that Tesla had submitted the application and was considering expanding into boats and airplanes. That, however, was not the case.
According to Eady, Elon Musk suggested in September that Tesla’s proposed Cybertruck may be a short-term boat.
According to Keegan Caldwell, founder and managing member of an intellectual property business, customers do not often engage in proactive IP management on behalf of their favorite firms.
Eady said he has no affiliation with Tesla, and the filing was made without the company’s knowledge. “It’s a surprise to see something like this happen,” Caldwell added.
“It is exceedingly rare.”
The status of the trademark application was last updated on December 31 and is now awaiting assignment to an attorney for evaluation.
Caldwell is also unsure if a trademark may be submitted on behalf of Tesla, or any other firm, without the signature or endorsement of that company.