WWE & MLW At Odds Over 'Hart Foundation' Trademark

WWE and Major League Wrestling have issues once again, this time over a trademark filing for 'Hart Foundation.' 

WWE requested a 90-day extension to oppose MLW's registration for the 'Hart Foundation' trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The request has already been granted and WWE have until September 11 to file an official opposition to MLW's trademark filing for the term. 

The Hart Foundation was originally the name of Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart's tag team from 1985 until 1992 in WWE, when the team split so Bret could focus on a singles career. The Hart Foundation was later reformed as a faction in 1997 with Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, Davey Boy Smith, and Brian Pillman before disbanding later in the year. 

WWE previously held the trademark for 'Hart Foundation' but that trademark was cancelled in December 2002. MLW first filed to trademark 'Hart Foundation' in 2018 as a new version of the group formed in the promotion consisting of Teddy Hart, Davey Boy Smith Jr, and Brian Pillman Jr. 

There have also been other versions of the Hart Foundation, including Hart Foundation 2.0 in Ring of Honor in the 2000s, and The New Hart Foundation in WWE's FCW developmental territory. 

WWE and MLW were previously locked in an anti-trust lawsuit, with WWE ultimately agreeing to pay MLW $20 million to settle the dispute in December 2023.