The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s rejection of the Athletics’ ‘Las Vegas Athletics’ trademark application won’t leave the team defenseless against counterfeiters, according to intellectual property experts.
Louis Tompros, an IP litigation attorney and lecturer at Harvard Law School, said the team can still pursue legal action against knockoff sellers based on unregistered trademark rights. ‘The decision by the Trademark Office does not put the A’s at any serious risk from knock-off sellers,’ Tompros said via email. ‘Federal trademark registration is valuable — it strengthens enforcement, increases potential damages, and provides clearer legal standing — but it isn’t the only form of protection.’
The trademark office denied the applications for ‘Las Vegas Athletics’ and ‘Vegas Athletics’ in February, ruling that ‘Athletics’ was too descriptive and the team isn’t yet playing in Las Vegas. The decision was non-final, and MLB, which handles trademarking for its franchises, has until the end of May to appeal. An MLB source previously said the league plans to do so.
Tompros compared the ruling to an administrative hurdle rather than a green light for counterfeiters. ‘The Trademark Office registration ruling is more of an administrative hurdle than a crack in the door for pirates,’ he said.
A’s president Marc Badain dismissed concerns last week, saying, ‘That’s a nonissue. MLB is handling it for us. I’m not concerned about that at all.’
Tompros noted that the team’s trademark position will strengthen once they begin playing, marketing, and building a fan base in Las Vegas. ‘Trademark protection for a team name ultimately comes down to whether fans associate that name with this specific franchise — and a few seasons of games, merchandise, and media coverage in Las Vegas will go a long way toward making that argument,’ he said.
The process could extend into the A’s first season in their new $2 billion ballpark, which is expected to open in 2028. Meanwhile, the team recently received a notice of allowance for ‘Las Vegas A’s,’ which Tompros said is more protectable because ‘A’s’ functions as a team nickname rather than a descriptive term.
‘The A’s will still have to show specific association between the team and the name “Las Vegas Athletics,”’ Tompros said.
