By Eric Macramalla
It’s possible that four U.S. trademark applications have revealed the new name of the New Jersey Nets when they move to Brooklyn in 2012: The Brooklyn New Yorkers.
In 2005, the Nets announced plans to locate the team in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn (one of the members of the ownership group is rap mogul and Brooklyn native Jay-Z; the majority owner is Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov).
Possible names for the team included the Brooklyn Nets and New York Nets. However, four U.S. trademark applications were filed on September 30, 2010 in the names of James Stevralia and Joseph Voyticky. Individuals with these same names are associated with the law firm Pepper Hamilton, as are the agents handling the trademark applications. These applications are not in the name of the owner of the Nets or a related company.
Here’s one of the proposed logos as per the trademark application:
[insert logo here]
To access the trademark applications, go to http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp, click on “Search Marks”, then click on “Word and/or Design Mark Search (Structured)”, enter “Brooklyn New Yorkers” (in quotes) and then click on any of the four applications.
You will see that the “Filing Basis” is indicated as 1B. That just means that the mark was not used in the U.S. at the time the application was filed, but that there is an intention to use the mark.
According to NetsDaily (http://www.netsdaily.com/2010/12/13/1869875/who-are-the-brooklyn-new-yorkers), the NBA requires a team to advise of a name change two years before the change, but it doesn’t require a team to state what the new name will be. As well, under an agreement with the Empire State Development Corp., the new name must include either “Brooklyn” or “New York”.
The Nets have not confirmed the change. If the team is in fact rebranding, the Brooklyn New Yorkers name is an understandable choice. By adopting this seemingly redundant name (a bit like the Montreal Canadiens), they are trying to position themselves as New York’s team. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim did the same thing in an effort to position themselves as more than just Anaheim’s team.
As well, the Nets don’t exactly have a winning tradition, and a change of name may help the team shed its losing image.
One sure way to become New York’s team, though, is by winning. Just ask the Mets. They were New York’s second team behind the Yankees until Mookie, Darryl, Dwight, Keith, Ray and company did their thing.
Eric is the author of Offside: a Sports Law Log (http://offsidesportsblog.blogspot.com) and a partner at the Canadian law firm of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP. He can be reached at Eric.Macramalla@gowlings.com
