Minkah Fitzpatrick will have to settle for T-Bone.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently denied the Dolphins defensive back’s effort to squat on “Fitzmagic,” a nickname widely associated with Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Via FloridaFootballInsiders.com, the January 1 decision arose from the conclusion that Ryan F. is sufficiently known by that name to create a false connection, if the federal rights to the label had been given to Minkah F.
Minkah F. may continue the effort to secure the rights to the nickname, and the process entails plenty of steps and levels. The question is whether Minkah wants to push it that far.
Minkah Fitzpatrick seemed to yield the issue in September, but he wanted to phone call from Ryan Fitzpatrick.
“If he wants the name, he can take it,” Minkah Fitzpatrick said at the time. “He’s a certified vet. Great football player. If he wants it, he can contact me or my people, and he can have it. If he wants it, he can take it. He’s just got to talk to me. I really don’t think it was as big of a deal as people made it out to be. Like I said earlier, if he wanted it, I’m sure he could have used it at some point.”
It sounds like Minkah Fitzpatrick was interested in selling it, and he still may be. But he’s currently not operating from a position of strength, in the eyes of the law.