All Sports Television Network and Its Founder in Dispute with HBO Over Use of "MAX"
Washingtoner/10238885

DETROIT - Washingtoner -- Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO) filed a "Notice of Opposition" against the "Racemax" trademark, which was filed by All Sports Television Network founder Roger Neal Smith. The trademark filed by Smith was researched and approved by the trademark office's attorney for publication. HBO filed an opposition to the filing, claiming HBO has exclusive rights to the word "Max".

In February 2023, Smith filed two trademarks using the name "Racemax". One trademark was for a television series appearing on the All Sports Television Network (All Sports). The other trademark was for a line of apparel. HBO filed an opposition to block the use of both trademarks. The broadcast giant claims that since it owns trademarks "Cinemax", "HBO Max", "Moremax", "Actionmax", "Thrillermax", "5 Starmax", "Outermax", and "Moviemax", All Sports' use of the word "Max" will cause confusion with their brand.

When researching all HBO trademarks, "Cinemax" is the only name trademarked for clothing. There currently exists 170 trademarks registered in the U.S. that contain the word "Max". This includes Ford Motor Company's "C-Max", Nike's "Air Max", and Victoria's Secret's "Angel Max". Yet, HBO is using their vast financial resources to block Smith's "Racemax" clothing trademark as well.

More on Washingtoner

• Award-Winning Author Diana Colleen Reframes Billionaire-ism, Psychedelic Healing, and the Illusion of Separateness
• The Prolific Writer, Producer "Hunter" Is Bringing New Music For Summer Release
• Millennial Maven Creative Foundation Assists In Bringing Juneteenth to the FIFA World Cup Fan Festival with an Authentically Dallas Lineup
• An AI Memory System Sealed Its Own Records to Bitcoin
• Spokane: DUI Driver Arrested After Vehicle Loses Control and Flips

"HBO's claim to the exclusive use of the word 'Max' with anything related to broadcasting is totally ludicrous," stated Roger Neal Smith, All Sports president and founder. Having filed numerous trademarks previously, I am aware that attorneys at the trademark office are very thorough in checking for marks that are conflicting with one another. The fact that the attorney assigned to review our trademark applications confirmed that 'Racemax' was not in conflict with any other marks is further evidence that HBO has no special claim on the word. HBO's assertion that it has exclusive use of the word 'Max' when combined with any other word related to film, television, and clothing makes absolutely no sense.

I have researched and identified 128 entertainment-related trademarks containing the word 'Max' that are currently registered in the U.S., which include 'Newsmax', 'Imax', and 'Movies to the Max'. It is obvious that HBO is simply trying to intimidate and bully me and All Sports.  Initially, HBO attorneys tried intimidating me by sending threatening letters. When that did not work, they decided to officially file an opposition with the trademark office.

More on Washingtoner

• Two Florida Family Law Firms Named Among the State's Best Divorce Practices for 2026
• Tacoma: No Impact to Garbage, Recycling and Yard/Food Waste Pick-Ups on June 19
• Tacoma Arts Live And Accelerating Creative Enterprise Present Ace Showace
• George Martinez Launches Community Re-distribution Initiative With Donation to the Gamma Alpha Alpha Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc
• SITE Technologies Releases Industry Research Report Exposing the CapEx Intelligence Gap in Commercial Real Estate

Our television series 'Racemax' has been running for three years. To date, we have aired the series more than 1,000 times without any notification that we were infringing on an HBO trademark. Now, all of a sudden, HBO asserts that we should not be using the word 'Max'.

I cannot and will not simply roll over and quit just because a multi-billion-dollar company decides that I cannot use a word that I have the legitimate right to use. If I allow this to happen, any time we decide to create a television program or a clothing product, I will have to first contact Casey Bloys, HBO's CEO, for his permission and blessing."

About All Sports Television Network

The All Sports Television Network is a national sports network created for American broadcast television. It features sports and sports-related programming covering both traditional and non-traditional sporting events across the globe. The company strives to provide viewers with interesting and exciting programs to watch 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and to provide the public with the opportunity to experience sporting events of which they were unaware.