The 1969 Woodstock Festival was a turning point in counterculture history. While the event itself was aligned with anti-capitalist ideology, the organizers secured commercial rights over the Woodstock trademark in 1978. And while it’s been over a quarter-century since the last official festival, recent federal filings show the owners are still fighting to protect the brand.

On March 24, 2026, Woodstock IP, LLC filed a trademark opposition against another festival organizer. The target was Alexander Richard Klinge, a man who attempted to register the name “Wubstock” for an upcoming music festival held in Iowa. The interesting issue is that this battle seemed to be over even before Woodstock’s official owners filed the Opposition.

A Tight Grip on the Woodstock Trademark

The owners of the Woodstock brand filed their first trademark application in 1978. While many may have seen such commercialization as a betrayal of the original festival’s values, it ensured the men who organized the event maintained control of the trademark. This certainly allowed them to cash in on the follow-up festivals in 1994 and 1999.

However, the 1999 festival was – put simply – an absolute trainwreck. In fact, that’s the actual name of the Netflix documentary that focuses on the event. Due in part to bad publicity and monetary issues, there have been no other festivals since that year. However, this hasn’t prevented the owner from capitalizing on the name.

Enter Wubstock, a 2-day electronic music festival. While Wubstock organizers didn’t directly use the Woodstock trademark, the owners of the original brand felt the name was too similar. That’s why they took swift action when organizers of Wubstock sought registration in June 2025. While the new event’s organizer seemed to concede, the issue still ended up before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Woodstock vs. Wubstock

In its opposition, Woodstock IP, LLC claims that registration of Wubstock would confuse consumers. The complaint states that the festival name creates “a false sense of connection” with the actual Woodstock brand. In any other instance, it would be up to the Wubstock organizers to prove that registration would not create a likelihood of confusion with the Woodstock trademark.

However, it seems likely that there will be no attempt to do so. The owners of Woodstock sent a cease and desist letter to Alexander Klinge regarding the festival. In response, Klinge said he would end all use of the “Wubstock” name to avoid any perceived infringement of the Woodstock trademark. The festival name was abruptly changed to Sonic Roots.

However, it seems that Klinge did not act quickly enough for Woodstock. Less than two weeks after he promised to end any promotion under the Wubstock name, Woodstock IP, LLC filed its opposition. The brand noted that Klinge agreed to withdraw his application voluntarily, but that it had not been done in a “timely manner.” 

Is a Legal Fight Coming?

Now that a formal opposition has been filed, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) is involved. On paper, the Wubstock applicant has until May 23, 2026, to file an answer with the TTAB. In many cases, we would have to wait and see what happens next. Filing an answer by the deadline would be necessary if the owner of the opposed application wanted to fight back.

However, this doesn’t seem to be the case with Wubstock. As promised in Klinge’s response to Woodstock IP, LLC, it seems that the Wubstock moniker has been scrubbed from existence. A rebranding process clearly occurred, but the owners of the Woodstock trademark still filed an opposition. If Klinge chooses not to respond, Wubstock will become an abandoned trademark.

The real question is whether the opposition was even necessary.

Did Woodstock IP, LLC Need to Go After Wubstock?

No statement of use was filed for Wubstock, which would show commercial use of the trademark. Without it, the USPTO will not grant registration. Additionally, withdrawing an application can take up to four weeks to process. Even without a formal withdrawal of the application, it was likely to die soon due to the lack of an answer.

Of course, the owners of the original brand recently sought permission to use the Woodstock trademark for a marijuana brand. For a company trying to capitalize on a festival with clear anti-capitalistic undertones – a festival that hasn’t had a follow-up in over 25 years – perhaps the Wubstock application didn’t need to die.  Perhaps it simply wasn’t dying soon enough.