Can the word ‘athletics’ be too generic? It turns out yes, as the Athletics team planning to move to Las Vegas in 2028 recently found out. 📉🏟️
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has once again rejected their application to register the trademarks ‘Las Vegas Athletics’ and ‘Vegas Athletics’ — the reason? 🏛️🚫
According to the Office’s reasoning, the word ‘Athletics’ is too generic and lacks distinctive character, and as a result may easily be confused with other trademarks. 🗣️⚖️
Although the history of this name dates back to 1901, when the team was based in Philadelphia, the USPTO pointed out that earlier registrations are not sufficient to obtain protection because they do not concern identical marks. 📜⌛
Even 120+ years of history can’t always overcome a “genericness” refusal! ⚾⚔️
