Brett Davis-Imagn Images
As things currently stand, the Athletics will start playing their home games in Las Vegas when the MLB kicks off its season in 2028. However, the team has encountered a bit of a setback after losing its bid to trademark a name with a history that stretches back 125 years.
Plenty of professional sports franchises have called multiple cities home over the course of their existence, and that includes the MLB team known as the Athletics. The A’s originally set up shop in Philadelphia all the way back in 1901, where they spent over five decades before moving to Kansas City in 1955. However, that tenure didn’t last long, and the A’s relocated to Oakland in 1968, embarking on yet another chapter of their storied history.
That chapter officially came to an end in 2024, following a contentious situation that saw owner John Fisher deciding to move the team to Las Vegas. Last season, the Athletics traded the Oakland Coliseum for a minor league ballpark in Sacramento, which will serve as their temporary home until they arrive at a new stadium in Sin City, slated to open in 2028.
The USPTO says the Athletics can’t trademark “Athletics” because it’s too generic
The A’s name is a nod to the Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia, which spent a lone season as a National League team before folding in the wake of the 1876 campaign. The franchise currently holds close to 20 trademarks secured during its time in Oakland, but the team’s move to Las Vegas has necessitated new filings to retain similar protections.
However, the Athletics encountered a significant hurdle when multiple applications were denied. According to intellectual property attorney Josh Gerben, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejected attempts to trademark the “Las Vegas Athletics” and “Vegas Athletics,” citing that these names are “primarily geographically descriptive” and therefore ineligible for legal protection.
The crux of the USPTO’s argument suggests that the trademarks are too broad, potentially applying to any athletic activities in the Las Vegas area rather than specifically to the Major League Baseball franchise. Gerben elaborates that while the A’s pointed to their preexisting trademarks to support their application, the USPTO dismissed these arguments by indicating that prior registrations do not come into play when assessing new filings.
Looking ahead, Gerben posits that the A’s may find it easier to secure the trademark once they begin operations in Las Vegas. There remains the possibility of the franchise taking legal action to resolve the trademark issue before they officially start playing in the city. However, until the matter is sorted, they face challenges battling unlicensed merchandise that could arise without trademark protection.