MILAN—Ilia Malinin can land seven quadruple jumps in his figure skating program. But he’s having a tougher time landing the U.S. trademark to his nickname, the QuadGod.

Last February, Malinin filed trademark requests to the U.S. Government for three commercial uses to the nickname. Two of those have since been deleted by the Patent and Trademark Office. The third—for use on t-shirts, hats, costumes and other apparel—is currently in a 30-period of public review.

Malinin, who competes in the men’s free skate on Friday evening in Milan, has already excelled in his debut Olympics—winning gold in the team event with another chance to add to his haul in the individual event, which concludes Friday. At the age of 21, he’s one of the sport’s bright young stars with an astonishing arsenal of skills, including a quadruple axel, unrivaled by any of his competitors.

Off the ice, he’s building his brand around QuadGod, the nickname he gave himself in 2020 when he began landing quads, the shorthand for figure skating jumps with four aerial rotations. His website URL is his name with “qg” tacked onto the end, and his QuadGod logo is all over. The shop includes more than a dozen pieces of QuadGod merchandise, including a $100 windbreaker, a $35 beanie and a $7 vinyl sticker. He has worn QuadGod merchandise in sponsored videos, including one he posted for Google this week on Instagram. The specific QuadGod tank top he wore in that video also bore the Nike swoosh. A spokesman for Nike said that garment was not produced in conjunction with the company.

Still, Malinin has yet to secure the trademark to a nickname that has become synonymous with the Virginia-based skater. On Feb. 25 of last year, Malinin filed a trademark for use of QuadGod in three separate realms—clothing and costumes; skating equipment like blades and guards; and “entertainment services” related to professional figure skaters.

A government lawyer responded a few months later, saying that the applications for the latter two requests lacked sufficient details—specifically examples of how the marks would be used and marketed. Malinin and his lawyer could have followed up with more evidence, but it doesn’t appear that they did. In December, the patent office said it had deleted those two requests, leaving just the pending trademark for apparel, costumes and clothing.

On Jan. 27, the QuadGod mark was published in the Trademark Official Gazette, beginning a 30-day clock during which any party who believes it would be damaged by Malinin gaining registration can file a notice of opposition. The notice would be filed with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), an administrative court within the USPTO, and might argue that there would be a likelihood of confusion with a mark arguably similar to QuadGod.

As of Friday, there is no indication of a party filing a notice of opposition to Malinin’s pending registration. Should one be filed before the deadline expires, the TTAB would begin a process of review that weighs competing arguments.

If Malinin’s application were approved, he would obtain a number of legal benefits. Federal registration of a mark provides an exclusive right to use those marks and a presumption of ownership. Those are advantageous features should Malinin seek to stop others from using QuadGod on athletic apparel, figure skating clothing and related products. Likewise, Malinin would be able to demand that others obtain a license from him to use QuadGod on clothing, or he can sue them for infringement.

Another important benefit of registration, especially from an international commerce perspective, is the anti‑counterfeiting protections from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The CBP detains and seizes imported goods that infringe on registered trademarks, and that protection is considered an important feature in enforcement of intellectual property rights at the nation’s border. As Sportico has detailed, leagues, athletes and other sports entities have battled the proliferation of counterfeit merchandise, especially from China, sold on popular websites.

At the same time, Malinin doesn’t need to obtain a federal trademark registration to obtain trademark law protection. He can also rely on common law trademark rights, which are enforceable through state law and case precedent. They require using a trademark in commerce, such as selling QuadGod apparel and other merchandise, which is why Malinin can sell his products while the request is pending. While common law trademark rights are useful, federal trademark rights are often considered superior.

Leading up to and during the Olympics, Malinin has been teasing the release of a mental health initiative expected on Feb. 21, after the totality of the figure skating competition concludes in Milan.

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MILAN — Ilia Malinin skated an impressive, if unsteady, long program on Sunday evening in Milan to elevate the U.S. figure skating squad to the Olympic gold medal in the team event. Team USA, which also won team gold in Beijing in 2022, narrowly beat an elegant Team Japan by just one point in a thrilling, three-day contest to open the Winter Games’ marquee sport.

Before a full crowd at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, with tennis legend Novak Djokovic and NBA great Pau Gasol in attendance, Malinin completed five quadruple jumps and a one-footed backflip as part of his free skate. Despite stumbling on a quad lutz jump and forgoing a quad axel for a triple, Malinin’s score of 200 points was enough to hold off a clean and graceful program by Japan’s Shun Sato for the overall gold. 

Host nation Italy won the bronze, capped by Matteo Rizzi delivering the skate of the night with a performance to the Interstellar soundtrack that drove the audience to chant “Italia!” before he had even finished.

The team figure skating event, which concluded around 5 p.m. Eastern time, was an audience hit and may very well have given NBC a major ratings boost leading into Sunday night’s Super Bowl. And at least one member of Team USA is committed to stay up into the night and watch the game—Danny O’Shea, a pairs skater and the U.S. team captain, was wearing a black T-shirt that said, “I [heart] Drake Maye” under his team jacket in the kiss-and-cry section to show his Patriots fandom.

“Honestly, it’s going to be an amazing day, because I just won an Olympic gold medal, and then I’m going to go watch Drake Maye win the Super Bowl,” said O’Shea, whose parents are from Boston.

Most skaters, however, will likely aim to get their rest. The team event effectively doubles their energy demand in an already high-stress competitive event; Malinin said he performed at only 50% of his capacity on Saturday night.

“I had to sit around for a few hours thinking about why that happened yesterday in the short program,” Malinin said Sunday after securing the win, saying he underestimated “the impact of the Olympic environment.” Wearing a gold medal, though, “brings me so much joy and energy and, of course, the confidence and motivation leading up to my individual event.”

O’Shea echoed Malinin’s sentiments, saying, “I definitely think the ice dancers would have appreciated” an extra day off between the team competition and the ice dance event, which begins Monday. “I’m not sure how capable the Olympics may be with scheduling,” he said, adding jokingly, “I’ll talk to the IOC about it.”

Nonetheless, the team event showcased figure skating at its best: a battle between the technical sophistication of the “Quad God” Malinin with the artistry of three-time women’s world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan and the pure emotion of Italy, which won its third-ever Olympic medal in the sport.

Rizzo said he couldn’t hear the music by the end of his program. “I could just hear the screaming of the people, the screaming of my team, my emotion. I was screaming, too. It was amazing.”

Toward the end of the night, after the medal ceremony and hours of interviews with television, newswires and print reporters, the skaters were asked where they might keep their newly won medals.

“Around my neck,” O’Shea said. “For as long as possible.”

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