The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has rejected Serena Ventures’ trademark appeal, according to Law360. The trademark application, which was filed in November 2020, was denied because the TTAB panel believed it could be mistaken for “Serena,” another trademark that also invests in real estate and other areas. “Serena” is owned by Florida-based VC Management Florida LLC.
Serena Ventures Trademark application
The TTAB panel said it denied Williams’ argument that her registered trademark applied solely to real estate. The decision said that “only some of registrant’s services are restricted to the field of real estate; others (including ‘capital investment services’ and ‘financing services’) contain no such restriction,” as per Law360.
The panel also concluded that there was little evidence from Williams that consumers would view “Serena Ventures” as evidently related to Serena Williams, thereby distinguishing it. But it acknowledged that they “take judicial notice, as a commonly known fact not subject to dispute, that the applicant is a well-known tennis player.”
“The Serena Ventures brand has evolved, and this application is no longer being pursued, Hillary Hughes of Foster Garvey PC, who represents Williams, said. “This was a business decision. The fund had strong grounds to obtain the registration but chose not to continue the process.”
Serena Ventures becoming Starfire Ventures
Serena Ventures has rebranded as Starfire Ventures. The new investment firm will focus on helping high-potential founders gain access to venture funding.
Currently, Starfire has invested in 16 companies that have reached Unicorn status, and the firm will continue to prioritise women and underrepresented entrepreneurs. “We invest in everyone. We invest in people who look like you. We invest in people who look like me. It’s just that we do see a lot of women and a lot of underrepresented founders because they know that we’ll hear their story.”
Williama continues: “We are only investing in winners. If we don’t feel the company is going to return our fund, we’re not going to invest in them.”
Image: Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Netflix; Adobe Stock
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