Jets player Tim Tebow has filed trademark applications in some seven categories for the term “Tebowing.” The blogosphere has erupted in complaints that the football player is trying to trademark kneeling in prayer.
A look at the actual filings (you can look at them here) show that is simply not the case. The applications are for the word mark itself. People can rest assured that they can take a knee in prayer without paying a licensing fee to Tim Tebow.
Trademarking your personal brand makes sense. Lady Gaga sued last year to protect her name, which has been valued at north of $1 billion. Trademarking a gesture, however, is not so easy to do, especially one so common as kneeling in prayer.