Matt Hardy Gains Small Victory In Battle With GFW Impact Wrestling
When GFW Impact Wrestling was trying to maintain ownership of the Broken Universe that featured Matt Hardy, they trademarked four items that Matt and Jeff Hardy used in the gimmick. However, PWInsider reported that Matt Hardy received a small victory when the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) initially refused the four Broken Universe trademarks.
The Matt Hardy Broken Universe Trademarks
There were four words that GFW Impact Wrestling tried to trademark so that Matt Hardy nor Jeff Hardy could use them anywhere outside of their company. Those were “Broken Matt,” “Brother Nero,” “Broken Brilliance,” and “Vanguard 1.”
The first two were rejected for similar reasons, and there is almost no chance that GFW Impact Wrestling will get those trademarked based on the reasons for their rejection. According to the reports, “Broken Matt” was rejected because the company has to prove whether it refers to a living person or not.
Because it does refer to Matt Hardy, GFW Impact Wrestling would have to get his permission to trademark his name, and there is no way he will allow that. There is also another problem with that trademark. Matt trademarked “Broken Matt Hardy” himself before GFW Impact Wrestling did, and his application will hold precedence if there is confusion between the two.
The second one is “Brother Nero.” This one was also rejected because GFW Impact Wrestling would have to prove that it is or isn’t in reference to a living person. Jeff Hardy’s middle name is Nero, and he is Matt’s brother, so there is no way that “Brother Nero” can be trademarked unless Jeff allows it.
The “Broken Brilliance” trademark was denied because GFW Impact Wrestling needs to specify whether it is a term that has significance to professional wrestling or whether it is a “term of art.” The same holds true for “Vanguard 1.” While those have a better chance of eventually getting trademarked, without “Broken Matt” and “Brother Nero,” they hold little power.
The Matt Hardy and GFW Impact Wrestling Battles
The battle between Matt Hardy and GFW Impact Wrestling has been getting messy again. After weeks of silence, Matt claimed that an agreement was made, but Ed Nordholm of Anthem Sports chose not to sign the agreement to allow Matt and Jeff Hardy to use the gimmick in the WWE.
Despite this, the Hardy Boyz have been dropping hints on WWE television concerning the Broken Brilliance gimmick and even Finn Balor made mention of Matt Hardy’s “Delete” quote on a recent episode of Monday Night Raw. Matt is also getting more brazen about getting the fans to chant “Delete” as well.
Ed Nordholm has recently told Sports Illustrated in an interview that GFW Impact Wrestling had chosen not to come to an agreement with Matt Hardy and will not do so in the future, calling the issue dead. However, Nordholm also made statements about why Matt Hardy left the company, and that did not sit well with Hardy.
Matt Hardy immediately went to Twitter and said that Nordholm lied in the interview to defame him. Hardy then claimed that he had the entire conversation with Nordholm recorded for evidence and he is contacting his lawyers.
When it comes to Matt Hardy ever using the Broken Brilliance gimmick in the WWE, it sounds like these legal battles with GFW Impact Wrestling are still running strong.
[Featured Image by WWE]
