Bill Belichick has multiple trademark applications denied, New England Patriots major reason why

Bill Belichick was hoping to trademark some key phrases from his time in the NFL. The New England Patriots opted not to allow it to happen.

According to trademark attorney Josh Gerben, Belichick’s filings for three phrases — DO YOUR JOB (BILL’S VERSION), NO DAYS OFF (BILL’S VERSION) and IGNORE THE NOISE (BILL’S VERSION) — were denied. The Patriots own the trademarks, sans the “Bill’s Version.”

The USPTO has denied Bill Belichick’s trademark filings for:

1. DO YOUR JOB (BILL'S VERSION)
2. NO DAYS OFF (BILL'S VERSION)
3. IGNORE THE NOISE (BILL'S VERSION)

The reason for the refusals?

The Patriots own the trademarks (sans the "Bill's Version").#PatriotsNation pic.twitter.com/VmuU3PEcOc

— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) September 9, 2025

While it’s the letter of the law, it’s not going to help heal Belichick’s contentious relationship with the NFL franchise. It seems like there’s been one controversy after another pertaining to the former coach and the Patriots, and this trademark battle is the latest development in the saga.

Of course, Belichick is now the head coach at North Carolina. However, he hasn’t forgiven New England — he’s reportedly enforcing a ban against scouts from the Patriots at Tar Heels’ practices.

It all comes after an awkward end to his time in New England. At the end of the 2023 season, Belichick and the Patriots parted ways, which was described as mutual. However, most believe he was forced out after tensions had flared between him and ownership about the end of Tom Brady’s time there, and the drop off in success the team had since Brady left.

Via John Middlekauff, the move was confirmed by multiple sources. According to Mike Florio, “the message sent by his consigliere, G.M. Mike Lombardi.” That amounts to a little bit of an awkward situation.

“Which is funny but also kind of embarrassing,” Middlekauff said. “Because Bill, for multiple decades, my guess is made over $200 million working for Robert Kraft. Became an absolute NFL legend, winning Super Bowls, going to Super Bowls, and just kicking the sh*t out of everybody with Tom Brady. Then, it got ugly and he lost and he got fired.

“You know what that’s called? Football… People get fired, but to ban the New England Patriots is like an FU to Robert Kraft.”

Belichick took a year away from coaching before landing at North Carolina. Since then, he’s run the program relatively secretively. He’s made life difficult for scouts, regardless of whether they’re from the Patriots or not. That included sharing blank two-deeps.

All told, it’s not the behavior expected from a legend like Belichick. We’ll see if he changes his tune moving forward, but it’s certainly all led to a dramatic beginning to his time in Chapel Hill.

— On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this article.