Seems as though WWE is having issues filing a new trademark for Sin Cara. The company attempted to file for the trademark in October 2020 but to no avail. WWE had previously released Jose Rodriguez, the last wrestler to play the “Sin Cara” character by his own admission in December 2019.
According to the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), they have notified WWE on some issues with the trademark rejection. WWE needs to provide some sort of written consent in order to provide clarification if “Sin Cara” is the name of an actual “living individual”. This includes first name, nickname and pseudonym. All of which WWE has failed to deliver on during the last filing attempt.
WWE usually applies for the trademark, then if declined, they would ask the talent directly to sign a document to provide them consent. More often than not, there are no issues between the talent and WWE officials in terms of filing for a character trademark.
What’s also important to note is that WWE still has an active trademark on Sin Cara for use in “entertainment services.” This trademark is slated to expire in 2023. While the ring name is for a character who has been portrayed by multiple people in WWE, the USPTO reportedly still expects the person who used the name to provide written consent, unless they are no longer living.
