The Tasmania Devils have been forced to put plans for their “Ken Oath” merchandise on hold after discovering the popular Australian slang term is already trademarked.
The club launched a cheeky campaign celebrating senior coach Ken Hinkley’s appointment, but shortly after the merch announcement, the club’s lawyers flagged that the phrase is owned by Queensland-based streetwear brand Kenoath Clothing Co.
Des Hughes, who founded the brand, told Pulse he first trademarked “Ken Oath” in 2008 before launching the clothing label in 2012.
Hughes said the Devils are far from the first to run into the issue.
“We’ve had something like 40 trademark breaches over the last couple of years, including a couple of big major retail outlets, which obviously the IP protected us and they had to withdraw those products,” he said.
Hughes went full time with the brand in 2018 and said it took off after a relaunch with a new logo and website.
He said any use of the Ken Oath name on clothing would need to be done together rather than independently, but acknowledged the Devils have already reached out to look at potential opportunities.
“It’d have to be something collaborative, which I think maybe the email’s going to point to, I think,” he said.
A Tasmania Football Club spokesperson said the club moved quickly once the trademark was discovered.
“It was a cheeky, fun campaign but who would have thought that an Aussie slang term had been copyrighted,” the spokesperson told Pulse.
“Once we became aware of the situation, we quickly stopped the promotion and reached out to Des, owner of the real ‘Kenoath’.”
“In the spirit of great Australian collaboration ‘Ken Oath’ is now on pause, but watch this space – there is something in the works!”
Hughes said he is open to a partnership and would welcome something that gives back to the community, pointing to previous work with the Black Dog Institute where proceeds from limited-edition shirts went to the foundation.
“Maybe something like that, going back to the grassroots, the kids or, you know, something like that, which is something I really am passionate about,” he said.
He noted the trademark sits in a unique space, as IP Australia does not grant approval to profanity.
“So we’ve been pretty fortunate to get something that’s just on that line ball,” he said.
