Last week, three major league baseball teams asked to trademark the name of the very cities that give them a place to call home.
The pitch has left diehard fans scratching their heads, with trademark applications filed by the baseball teams the Boston Red Sox, The Seattle Mariners, and The Houston Astros.
Bostonians were especially critical.
“These are absurd filings and are an overreach,” New England Law professor Pete Karol told The Boston Herald after news of the applications went public.
Late Friday afternoon, all three teams withdrew their application after fans and residents of the cities reacted with outrage, calling it absurd and arrogant all over social media.
Owner of the Boston Red Sox John Henry said in a written statement that it was Major League Baseball (MLB) that initiated all three applications, not the Red Sox or the other teams.
“Today, at our request, MLB has agreed to withdraw the application. MLB’s intent was to protect these clubs’ use of their city name in connection with professional baseball services and apparel, not an attempt to own the city name or prevent others from using the city name.”
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) shows the application was withdrawn on Mar. 24. However, the application lists the Boston Red Sox Baseball Club Limited Partnership, which has the same address as Fenway Park, the team’s home stadium, as the applicant.
It does not list the MLB. According to the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s corporate registration records, the club’s general partner is New England Sports Ventures.
USPTO records show that The Baseball Club of Seattle had submitted the application for the Seattle Mariners and that the Houston Atros submitted their application.
Neither team responded right away to inquiries from The Epoch Times about the trademark proposals.
The applications show the teams wanted exclusive rights to the use of their hometown name on a variety of apparel, fans contests, sporting and entertainment events, including live concerts and even media, “namely baseball games and baseball exhibitions.”
That would include colleges like Boston College, which has a baseball team named The Boston Eagles, the Houston Christian Huskies of Houston Christian University, and the Houston Cougars of the University of Ohio.
It is not the first time a major league baseball team has tried to patent its hometown. In 2021, the Cleveland Guardians baseball team challenged the Cleveland Guardians roller derby for the rights to the name.
The challenge ended up in an out-of-court settlement with the teams agreeing both could use the name.
The controversy arose shortly after the Cleveland Indians changed their longstanding name in 2021 to the Cleveland Guardians out of political correctness to native Americans.
According to court records, the Cleveland Guardians roller derby had the name first, dating back to 2013 and making it official by registering with the Ohio Secretary of State in 2017.
In 2019, Fenway Sports Group LLC, which also has an ownership in The Red Sox, also waged an unsuccessful attempt to trademark “Liverpool” for the Liverpool FC, which it also owns. The Red Sox owner is co-manager of the Fenway Sports Group.
The USPTO has granted some rather unusual trademarks, including granting Facebook the trademark rights to the word “Face,” banning its use commercially by any other companies.
The federal agency also granted wrestling announcing Michael Buffer the exclusive owner of his trademark announcement “Let’s get ready to rumble.”
Even some sounds have been trademarked, including the opening “dun dun” to the long-running television series Law and Order and the specific chime progressions of the New York Stock Exchange’s famous bell.
