Heavy, Inc. sues Heavy Global over HEAVY. event branding after a letter of protest at the USPTO: complaint allegations

What was filed

The complaint is Document 1, filed October 7, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The case is Heavy, Inc. v. Heavy Global Inc., No. 1:26-cv-01289, and it includes a jury demand. It pleads six counts: infringement of registered marks under 15 U.S.C. § 1114, unfair competition and false designation of origin under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), common law trademark infringement, the Delaware Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Del. Code Ann. tit. 6, § 2532, the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, Fla. Stat. § 501.201 et seq., and false advertising under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(B). Counsel are Kate Hodges Harmon and Matthew B. Fox of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, LLP, and a motion for Fox's pro hac vice admission was filed October 8, 2026. The docket shows Heavy Global was served October 8, 2026, with an answer due October 29, 2026.

What the complaint alleges

The complaint says Heavy, a Nevada corporation, has traded as HEAVY since 1999 and owns two HEAVY registrations issued in October 2006: Reg. No. 3,156,487 in Class 9 for prerecorded audio and video recordings and Reg. No. 3,150,598 in Class 41 for entertainment services, which it calls incontestable under 15 U.S.C. § 1065. It also claims common law rights for services including event production and advertising and marketing, and it says Heavy applied on May 21, 2026 to register HEAVY in Classes 35, 38, and 42, Serial No. 99837221. It alleges on information and belief that Heavy Global is a Delaware corporation, and it says Heavy Global was not formed or actively providing goods and services until 2024.

According to the complaint, Heavy Global applied on October 24, 2025 to register HEAVY. in Classes 35, 41, and 42, Serial No. 79442261, and asked Heavy for a consent agreement, which Heavy declined. Heavy filed a letter of protest on April 20, 2026, and the complaint says the USPTO's Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy found on May 28, 2026 that the evidence was "relevant to" likelihood of confusion under Section 2(d) with Heavy's two registrations. USPTO records show that Serial No. 79442261 is a Madrid Protocol extension of International Registration No. 1898820, that a nonfinal refusal was sent to the International Bureau on April 24, 2026, and that on May 28, 2026 the letter of protest evidence was forwarded and then marked "reviewed, no further action taken." The application is still under examination. It says Heavy's counsel sent a cease-and-desist letter on or around April 27, 2026, that Heavy Global's Australian counsel responded, and that Heavy Global would not commit to staying in music event production.

As what it calls an example of likely confusion, the complaint points to a YouTube video of John Summit's Lollapalooza Chicago 2026 set that credits "HEAVY" for "Production Management." It also says the privacy policy on heavy.global calls Heavy Global "Heavy Inc.," and that statement is the basis of the false advertising count. The prayer asks for a permanent injunction under 15 U.S.C. § 1116 against HEAVY, HEAVY., HEAVY GLOBAL, HEAVY.GLOBAL, and confusingly similar domain names including heavy.global, abandonment with prejudice of Serial No. 79442261, damages, profits, and treble damages under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a), punitive damages under Delaware and/or Florida law, destruction under 15 U.S.C. § 1118, and attorneys' fees.