The Athletics plan to play in their new Las Vegas stadium as soon as 2028, but they may have a hard time branding themselves with their new home city.
That’s because the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied the team’s trademark application for “Las Vegas Athletics” and “Vegas Athletics,” ruling the phrases were too generic and geographically descriptive for federal trademark protections, at least for now.
The decision centers on how trademark law treats names that combine a location with a weak term like ‘athletics’ which can refer to any number of goods and services such as clothing, training, or entertainment.
“The word ‘athletics’ was found not to be distinct because you literally have athletes playing a sport, and that’s what the trademark is identifying,” said trademark attorney Josh Gerben, founder and managing partner of Gerben IP. “It’s ‘a team’ where athletes play ‘a sport’.”
Gerben pointed to other Major League Baseball teams like the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers that do have brand names that are distinct.
“You would never have that kind of issue if you were trying to trademark the Philadelphia Phillies because even though the word ‘Philadelphia’ is in there, the Phillies is a very unique second word,” Gerben said.
Under trademark law, geographically descriptive trademarks can still be registered if the applicant proves the name has ‘acquired distinctiveness’, meaning consumers clearly associate the phrase with a specific brand or source. USPTO concluded the A’s haven’t met that standard.
The A’s argued they already own previous trademarks overcoming that burden. The club has been known as the Athletics in multiple cities dating back from their beginnings in Philadelphia in 1901, to their relocation to Kansas City in 1955, and in Oakland from 1968 up until 2024.
However, the USPTO rejected that argument, treating “Las Vegas Athletics” as a legally distinct mark.
“Because this was technically a different phrase, it’s a brand-new trademark and it needs brand-new evidence,” Gerben said. “They didn’t have enough evidence to show that they were really pushing on and using that name in the marketplace like they were the other names.”
Now, does this mean you can go out to the Vegas strip and begin selling ‘Las Vegas Athletics’ gear? Gerben doesn’t recommend it emphasizing that using team logos, colors, or other protected trademarks would still expose sellers to enforcement actions.
“If it literally just said the words ‘Vegas Athletics’ or ‘Las Vegas Athletics’ and it was gray and black, it would be harder for them to police that,” Gerben said. “I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s arguably a hole in their trademark rights right now.”
The issue is largely a matter of timing since the A’s haven’t actually moved to Las Vegas yet. The club is set to play at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento for three years until the completion of their $2 billion, 33,000 seat ballpark in 2028 that lays on the grounds of the former Tropicana casino hotel. The A’s have a fourth year option in the event of construction delays.
The Athletics played Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento for Opening Day. They lost to the Cubs 18 to 3.Chris Felts/CapRadio
Gerben added that the team’s decision to avoid tying itself to a specific city during the transition period, referring to itself simply as the A’s or the Athletics, may have slowed its ability to build trademark evidence.
“The minute [the Athletics] move there and start operations they’re going to have all the evidence they need…it’s more of a question of when, not if,” Gerben said.
The denial has garnered jeers from baseball fans across the nation, especially given the A’s status as a lightning rod of animosity over the years due to their messy pull out of Oakland, but trademark complications aren’t uncommon. The Las Vegas Raiders’ have faced their own trademark hurdles since 2017 over issues of ‘squatters’ filing for their own applications for the name.
Ultimately, Gerben doesn’t believe the USPTO’s decision threatens the Athletics’ relocation plans.
“This is not going to stop them from using the name,” he said. “It’s not going to make them have to change the name. This is part of the legal process of getting a trademark registered.”
He added, “It’s probably a very solvable one.”
The A’s have three months from the Dec. 29 refusal notice to file an extension for a new application to avoid abandonment.
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