Iron Maiden have taken legal action to block an undergarment company from trademarking the name Maiden Wear, saying the name is “likely to deceive or cause consumer confusion.”
According to Complete Music Update, a Los Angeles resident named Min Yu Chen is attempting to trademark the Maiden Wear brand to sell abdominal corsets, shapewear, bras, lingerie, and panties.
Lawyers for the legendary metal act argue that the band owns the “Iron Maiden” trademark for their own line of merchandise, including apparel such as “t-shirts, tank tops, long sleeve shirts, shorts, jerseys, sweatshirts, sweatpants, pants, jackets, hats, leather wrist bands, scarves and shoes.”
The band’s legal filing with the US Trademark Trial & Appeal Board reads, in part:
“The dominant term in applicant’s Maiden Wear mark is Maiden and therefore the mark is confusingly similar in appearance and connotation to opposer’s Iron Maiden mark. Moreover, the goods set forth in the Maiden Wear application are related to or the same as goods covered by the Iron Maiden registration and/or for which opposer has acquired common law rights in the United States. Thus, applicant’s Maiden Wear mark, when used in connection with the goods described in the Maiden Wear application, is likely to deceive or cause consumer confusion or mistake among members of the public and potential purchasers as to the source, sponsorship or composition of applicant’s goods in relation to opposer’s goods. Such confusion will damage opposer and injure its reputation in the trade and with the public.”
Interestingly, there’s also the long-running women’s underwear company Maidenform, which has been around since 1922, pre-dating Iron Maiden by more than a half century. Apparently, there are no issues between Maidenform and Iron Maiden.
Away from the trademark squabble, Iron Maiden are set to launch their “Future/Past Tour” later this month with an extensive European/UK outing that runs through early August. They’ll then play a few fall shows in Canada leading up to their appearance at the Power Trip festival in Indio, California.
Pick up tickets to Iron Maiden’s upcoming tour dates at this location, and see our video interview with singer Bruce Dickinson reflecting on the album The Number of the Beast below.
