WWF trademark dispute

The WWF trademark dispute was a legal event where the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) filed a lawsuit against the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) over the violation of a prior international agreement regarding usage of the "WWF" initials.

On April 17, 2000, the Fund commenced proceedings in the High Court of Justice in England against the Federation, citing breaches of their 1994 international agreement, as the Fund was based in Switzerland, and the Federation was based in the United States. The High Court ruled in favor of the Fund on August 10, 2001, and the Court of Appeal upheld their ruling on February 27, 2002. On May 6, 2002, the Federation, despite having an active petition for appeal at the House of Lords, announced their name change to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

On May 16, 2002, WWE chairman Vince McMahon appeared on TSN's Off the Record with Michael Landsberg, stating that wrestling's international expansion in the 1990s, as well as the advent of the Internet, had created unforeseen challenges when the Federation and the Fund initially agreed on the use of the "WWF" initials in 1989.

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