Tiger Woods’ Sun Day Red Brand Logo Challenged by Puma in Lawsuit

PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA - JUNE 10: A detailed view of Sun Day Red logos are seen on a hat and shirt worn by Tiger Woods of the United States during a practice round prior to the U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort on June 10, 2024 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Tiger Woods has hit a roadblock to trademarking the logo for his Sun Day Red apparel brand.

Puma filed a notice of opposition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Jan. 2 arguing that Sun Day Red’s logo is too similar to the brand’s “leaping cat” logo, as reported by CNBC’s Jessica Golden.

Puma claims in the lawsuit that “consumer confusion is likely” because of alleged similarity between the logos.

Sun Day Red was launched by Woods and TaylorMade in May. The brand already faced one legal dispute regarding its logo when athletic equipment company Tigeraire filed their own complaint in September, per Golden.

In its own lawsuit, Tigeraire said Woods’ brand “‘unlawfully hijacked’ Tigeraire’s registered design into its own branding,” per Golden.

Woods’ legal team responded with a filing claiming that Tigeraire was “attempting to extract an unwarranted financial windfall from a larger and more successful brand.”

The Tigeraire case is still pending in federal court.

In the latest complaint filed by Puma, the footwear brand argued in its lawsuit that the Sun Day Red logo “will dilute the strength and fame” of Puma’s logo.

Puma claimed that the Sun Day Red logo was “highly similar in appearance” to their logo, and pointed out that it “does not contain any other distinctive elements, such as wording, that would help distinguish it.”

The footwear brand went on to point to posts on X and comments on LinkedIn and golf forums, which compared the Puma and Sun Day Red logos, as evidence of consumer confusion between the two.

TaylorMade told CNBC, “We feel very confident in our trademarks and logos.”

Woods announced that he was parting ways with Nike after 27 years in early January 2024. TaylorMade filed to trademark the Sun Day Red logo about two weeks later, according to sports law attorney John Nucci.

When announcing the brand the following month, Woods said that the 15 stripes on the tiger were meant to represent his 15 major championships, per ESPN’s Paolo Uggetti.

Woods’ legal team could decide to settle with Puma before the case reaches court, as Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney whose firm isn’t involved in the lawsuit, told CNBC. A trial would likely take place around September 2026, per Gerben.