Aaron Judge has become the official controller of the phrases “All Rise” and “Here Comes the Judge” — a judge ruled for Judge over a Long Island man this week in a trademark court case and said those should belong to the Bronx star.
Originally, Michael P. Chisena, from Long Island, tried to register the trademarks in 2017 — Judge’s rookie season that featured 52 homers and an All-Star Home Run Derby title — to profit from the phrases on apparel, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled against that.
Chisena also tried to register for a design mark later that year, according to the Associated Press, but both attempts were opposed and blocked by Judge and the Major League Baseball Players Association.
Administrative Trademark Judge David K. Heasley wrote in the opinion published Wednesday that the phrases and design from Chisena would’ve been “likely to cause confusion or mistake, or to deceive under Section 2(d) of the Trademark Act.”
That’s because, Heasley wrote earlier in the opinion, consumers “would recognize, associate, and perceive them as pointing to a single source: Aaron Judge, the one sponsoring or authorizing the merchandise.”
Chisena allegedly argued that he created the “marks” between 2012 and 2015, at least two years before he claims he became aware of Aaron Judge.
“I became aware of Aaron Judge at some point in 2017, but do not recall the exact circumstances,” Chisena said, according to the opinion, while later stating that he’d never been to Yankee Stadium, seen Judge play baseball or watched the sport’s premier games such as the World Series and All-Star game in more than a decade.
According to The Athletic, Judge’s filing that opposed the attempted trademark from Chisena came in November 2017, one month after his attempt to register the design.
The two sides tried to settle in 2018 and 2019, according to The Athletic, but instead, a lengthy legal process followed.
Judge has become a staple in the Yankees’ lineup — and face of their franchise — since his rookie season, including a 2022 campaign that featured 62 home runs and a 2023 start that already features five home runs in the first 14 games.