Tata Rebane has been indefinitely suspended from competing in CrossFit-affiliated competitions. Rebane, who is in the middle of an ongoing legal dispute with CrossFit, LLC, was informed via email that she will not be able to continue competing with her team for the remainder of the 2024 CrossFit Games season.
In the email, CrossFit stated that “pursuant to Appendix A of the 2024 CrossFit Games Rulebook, CFHQ has the right to remove you from the 2024 Games season.” The specific clause referenced by CrossFit was, “CrossFit reserves the right to terminate the participation of any athletes, coach, staff, volunteer, judge, visitor, guest, supporter, teammate, and/or spectator attending or viewing any sponsored, sanctioned, or supported CrossFit event at any time, with no further obligation or duty to such individual.”
Rebane was competing on Made4 CrossFit Team TRETA this season and was looking to return to the CrossFit Games for the second consecutive year. In 2023, Rebane was on the 33rd place team, Templo SA CrossFit.
This year, however, Rebane will no longer be able to compete on her team following CrossFit’s decision. Following CrossFit’s email to Rebane, the other two women on her team, Aline Cabral and Vivian Aiello Bomfim, have elected to compete as an individual at the South America Semifinal. Cabral and Bomfim finished 36th and 23rd, respectively, in the South America Quarterfinals last week.
As for the legal dispute, it started when she inherited CrossFit Blacksheep from her brother who had passed away in 2016. Rebane, who did not have her L1 at the time, was advised by her lawyer to register the name CrossFit Blacksheep with with the Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI). The INPI agency responsible for managing patents, trademarks and intellectual right in Brazil.
When Rebane registered the name, CrossFit, Inc. had not been able to register the brand with the INPI. The company’s request in 2010 was denied due to CrossFit being “an expression in common use for the segment.” Thus, companies in Brazil were free to use the name CrossFit without CrossFit’s approval.
However, in 2019, the decision was reversed, allowing CrossFit, Inc. to request companies to remove “CrossFit” from their registration. The problem for Rebane was that another company had registered “Blacksheep”. So Rebane asked CrossFit for more time until she was able to resolve the dispute over the name “Blacksheep” with the other company.
According to Rebane, CrossFit did not accept her request for additional time and removed CrossFit Blacksheep from its list of affiliates. That’s why Rebane ended up competing on the Templo SA CrossFit team in 2023.
Rebane then changed the company’s registration name to “Cross Blacksheep Fit” and CrossFit, LLC filed another lawsuit claiming it infringes on the company’s rights. In response, Rebane sent a letter to CrossFit stating that she was willing to change the registered name again and does not want to fight with CrossFit.
“I’m also changing this brand, even by injunction, but I emphasize that I don’t want to fight with CrossFit. Quite the opposite: I want to continue being a partner and disseminator of CrossFit in Brazil, as I always have been,” wrote Rebane.
In the same letter Rebane asked CrossFit to accept the affiliation of her gym under a different name, or to at least not disqualify her from competing in the CrossFit Games season. But for now, CrossFit has not changed its decision to remove Rebane from competing this season.
A CrossFit spokesperson, when asked about the situation, provided the following statement:
“CrossFit has ruled to remove Tatiana Rebane from Made4 CrossFit Team TRETA’s roster ahead of the 2024 CrossFit Games Semifinals and an indefinite suspension from CrossFit-affiliated competitions has been assessed. Made4 CrossFit Team TRETA will be allowed to compete at the South America Semifinal by Copa Sur using an alternate under the condition the term “TRETA” is removed from the team’s name.
“The decision to remove Rebane from the remaining 2024 CrossFit Games competitions is a direct result of Rebane’s affiliate violating the terms of the Affiliate License Agreement by engaging in activities that negatively impacted the CrossFit community in Brazil. These actions included, but were not limited to, attempts to register a trademark confusingly similar to CrossFit®, and use of the trademark in connection with non-licensed gyms in Brazil, among others.
“Due to the nature of these actions, the need to protect CrossFit’s intellectual property and the CrossFit community as a whole, CrossFit was forced to take legal action against Rebane. The consequence of this legal action and her response to it has resulted in the removal of Rebane from the remainder of the 2024 CrossFit Games competition.
“CrossFit remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting its Brazilian affiliates and will continue to vigorously defend its trademark against misuse to ensure a thriving CrossFit community in Brazil.”
