It’s time once again for my favorite season: baseball season. In that spirit, I thought I’d share a few baseball trademarks and stories.
Peanuts are a generic term, of course, but CRACKER JACK has been a registered trademark since 1906. This is a good reminder – trademarks can last forever, folks, so be sure to take care of yours. If you can get them into a popular song that will be sung at thousands of sporting events annually, so much the better.
Major League Baseball owns hundreds of trademarks. The legal notice at the bottom of the MLB.com homepage includes the following language:
The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.
Although they left Brooklyn 55 years ago, MLB still claims ownership of the BROOKLYN DODGERS trademark. The US Patent and Trademark Office has three registrations for BROOKLYN DODGERS listing the Los Angeles Dodgers LLC as the owners. 1, 2, 3.
The Dodgers also registered the Spanglish version of their name, LOS DOYERS – a move that apparently was controversial with LA’s hispanic population, according to this story. I wonder if The Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim will register the Spanish version of their name, Los Los Angeles Angeles de Anaheim. Probably not.
And, of course, the overrated, under-flavored DODGER DOG is also a registered trademark.
Enough with the Dodgers – check out the trademark for everyone’s favorite mascot, my hometown’s own SAN DIEGO CHICKEN. A few years ago, my friends’ band got the Chicken himself to appear at their photo shoot: check it out. Hi, Adam.
Everyone’s second favorite mascot, the PHILLIE PHANATIC, is also registered with the USPTO.
Even the color of a wall can lead to valuable intellectual property. Boston’s Fenway Park features a huge green left-field wall, which came to be known as the Green Monster. Following some legal back-and-forth, the Red Sox now own several GREEN MONSTER trademark registrations, including this one.
OK everyone, enjoy the baseball season, and Go Padres!
