Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has made the phrase “feed me” his personal trademark. Elliott now wants to make it legally his trademark. The person who owns the trademark isn’t willing to surrender it.
As explained by Clarence E. Hill, Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, former WWE wrestler Ryback holds the rights to the term.
“It’s very disappointing,” Ryback said, regarding the news that Elliott wants to secure federal trademark protection for the term. “I think it’s low-life scum . . . quite frankly. He’s a wrestling fan. He 100 percent got [the phrase] from me. I already established it and own it. You got to fight this stuff. . . .
“He’s not going to get it. The problem is this is exactly my phrase. And it’s the same meaning and that will cause confusion. I have a feeling it’s going to be denied by the trademark office. Now if it’s not, I will simply have to pay and oppose it and we will provide evidence and he will not get it. I’ll tie him up [in court] for years.”
Elliott recently placed the phrase on his stomach in the form of a tattoo.
“Who gets a tattoo before it’s even done?” Ryback said. “That’s pretty silly. I hope he has a good tattoo removal. I feel bad he got the tattoo on his stomach.”
Ryback can’t force Elliott to have the tattoo removed; the question is whether Elliott can sell T-shirts and other merchandise carrying the phrase. Elliott clearly wants to do it. Ryback, unless he’s huffing and puffing in the way that wrestlers always do, doesn’t plan to let it happen without a fight, real or fake.