MIAMI — The famous LIV nightclub in Miami Beach is looking to bounce a similarly named golf series at the door.
The club has filed a notice of opposition to trademark applications by LIV Golf, a Saudi-backed group looking to compete with the sport’s longstanding PGA Tour. The filing says the proposed trademarks are “highly similar in sight, sound, meaning, and overall commercial impression” to those of the nightclub.
Both entities use the Roman numerals LIV to allude to the number 54. The Fontainebleau Hotel, which has housed the LIV nightclub since 2008, opened in 1954. And the nightclub founded by entrepreneur David Grutman has been compared to Studio 54, the former New York City theater and disco club.
As for LIV Golf, each of its tournaments consists of 54 holes played across three days.
In October, the series started and promoted by Greg Norman held a championship event at Trump National Doral Miami that included big-name players like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. The group has faced criticism over its Saudi backing and created rifts within the golf world.
In its filing Saturday with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the nightclub called LIV Golf’s proposed trademarks “confusingly similar” to its own, saying they are “likely to cause consumers to mistakenly believe” the two entities are affiliated.
The filing also accuses LIV Golf of seeking to “trade on the fame and goodwill” of the club.
The dispute will now play out before the appeal board and could go to a trial if a resolution isn’t reached.
A spokesperson for the nightclub declined to comment. Representatives for LIV Golf did not immediately respond to a comment request.
Grutman, the LIV founder and a nightlife king in Miami, had a different reaction in 2020 when Super Bowl LIV came to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. He called it the “best thing ever” in an interview with CBS Sports at the time, and said there had been no tension with the NFL over trademark or copyright issues.
Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the Miami Dolphins, features an offshoot of LIV inside.
