The Phoenix Suns were founded in 1968, with a public contest giving them their name. They initially began as an expansion team. The Suns are the only team in the NBA Western Conference Pacific Division that isn’t based in California. They are the only Phoenix-based team playing for Phoenix specifically, as most play for Arizona. They play their home games at the Footprint Center.
Despite having famous players like Charles Barkley, they’ve never won an NBA championship. However, they still hold a special place for the fans for other reasons. Many fans enjoy the Sun’s mascot, a dancing gorilla known as ‘Go.’
While they’ve never won an NBA championship, they’ve made the finals at least a dozen times. They have the second-highest winning score of a team that has never won the NBA championship.
Famous Phoenix Suns Trademarks
With so many years in the game, it’s evident that the Suns will have an impressive collection of trademarks. Let’s analyze some of the more popular Phoenix Suns trademarks.
Phoenix Suns
Following its first use in 1992, the trademark filing for the Phoenix Suns name was trademarked in 1994 in the following categories:
- Printed matter including basketball trading cards, basketball stamps, postcards, wrapping paper, statistical books, guide books, reference books, paper pennants, newsletters, pamphlets, and more related to television and radio media
- Clothing, including T-shirts, jerseys, warm-up suits, and more
- Toys and sporting goods including basketballs, golf balls, board games, golf clubs, jigsaw puzzles, and Christmas trees
- Entertainment services, like basketball games and basketball exhibitions rendered live in stadia and through the media of radio and television broadcasts
Phoenix Suns logo
The Phoenix Suns logo consists of a basketball shooting towards the sky like a meteor on a black background. First used in 1991, it was officially registered in 1999 in the following categories:
- Bags including athletic bags, overnight bags, umbrellas, backpacks, baby backpacks, duffel bags, tote bags, luggage, luggage tags, suitcases, and waist packs
- Publications and printed matter, namely, basketball trading cards, dance team trading cards, mascot trading cards, entertainment trading cards, stickers, decals, commemorative basketball stamps, portfolio notebooks, posters, calendars, bumper stickers, book covers, wrapping paper, children’s activity books, statistical books, guide books and reference books for basketball, magazines in the field of basketball, commemorative game programs, paper pennants, stationery, stationery-type portfolios, and statistical sheets for basketball topics, newsletters, and pamphlets in the field of basketball
- Entertainment services like basketball games and basketball exhibitions
- Clothing, namely, hosiery, footwear, T-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, pants, tank tops, jerseys, shorts, pajamas, sport shirts, rugby shirts, sweaters, belts, ties, nightshirts, hats, warm-up suits, jackets, parkas, coats, cloth bibs, headbands, wrist bands, aprons, boxer shorts, slacks, caps, earmuffs, gloves, woven and knit shirts
Read more: Trademarking a logo
PHX logo
The PHX logo, often seen on a variety of merchandise related to the Suns, has been in use since 2001. The logo consists of a basketball with the words PHX in a phoenix design, and it was registered in the same year for use in:
- Clothing for men, women, and children
- Toys, games, and sporting goods, namely, basketballs, golf balls, playground balls, sports balls, rubber action balls and foam action balls, basketball nets, basketball backboards, pumps for inflating basketballs, and needles; therefore, golf clubs, golf bags, golf putters, golf ball gift sets with divot repair tools and tees and ball markers, golf accessories, namely golf bag covers, club head covers, golf gloves, golf ball sleeves, bicycle tags, electronic basketball tabletop games, basketball tabletop games, basketball board games, electronic video arcade game machines, stand-alone video game machines, basketball kit comprised of a basketball net and whistle, dolls, stuffed toys, jigsaw puzzles, and Christmas tree ornaments
- Goods and services, entertainment and educational services regarding television and radio programs in the field of basketball and rendering live basketball games and basketball exhibitions; the production and distribution of radio and television broadcasts of basketball games, basketball events, and programs in the field of basketball; conducting and arranging basketball clinics, and coaches clinics and basketball events
- Publications and printed matter, namely, basketball trading cards, dance team trading cards, mascot trading cards, entertainment trading cards, stickers, decals, commemorative basketball stamps, collectible cardboard trading discs, memo boards, clipboards, paper coasters, postcards, placemats of paper or plastic, note cards, memo pads, ballpoint pens, pencils, pen and paper holders, standing boards, scrapbooks, rubber stamps, paper banners and flags, bookmarks, 3-ring binders, stationery folders, wire-bound notebooks, portfolio notebooks, unmounted and mounted photographs, posters, calendars, bumper stickers, book covers, wrapping paper, children’s activity books, statistical books, guide books and reference books for basketball, magazines in the field of basketball, commemorative game programs, paper pennants, stationery, stationery-type portfolios, and statistical sheets for basketball topics, newsletters, and pamphlets in the field of basketball
S logo
This logo consists of the letter “S” in stylized font surrounded by a sunburst design. Following its first use in 2013, the logo was registered in 2016 in the following categories:
- Entertainment and educational services like ongoing television and radio programs in the field of basketball and rendering live basketball games and basketball exhibitions; the production and distribution of radio and television shows featuring basketball games, basketball events, and programs in the field of basketball; conducting and arranging basketball clinics and camps, coaches clinics and camps, dance team clinics and centers and basketball games
- Entertainment services like personal appearances by a costumed mascot or dance team at basketball games and exhibitions, clinics, camps, promotions, and other basketball-related events, special events, and parties; fan club services
- Entertainment services, namely, providing a website featuring multimedia material such as television highlights, interactive television highlights, video recordings, video stream recordings, interactive video highlight selections, radio programs, radio highlights, and audio recordings in the field of basketball; providing news and information like statistics and trivia in the field of basketball; online non-downloadable games, namely, computer games, video games, interactive video games, action skill games, arcade games, adults and children’s party games, board games, puzzles, and trivia games; electronic publishing services, namely, publication of magazines, guides, newsletters, coloring books, and game schedules of others online through the internet, all in the field of basketball; providing an online computer database in the field of basketball
- Cloth banners, cloth wall hangings, cloth, and fabric pennants; bed, bath, and household linens, sheets, blankets, comforters, curtains, draperies, quilts, bedspreads, towels, pillowcases, and shams, dish towels, golf towels, oven mitts, textile tablecloths, and placemats, stadium blankets, throw blankets, cloth handkerchiefs, cloth flags, unfitted fabric furniture covers, shower curtains
- Audio broadcasting; cable television broadcasting; radio broadcasting; subscription television broadcasting; television broadcasting; video broadcasting; webcasting services like providing online chat rooms and online interactive chat rooms with guests for transmission of messages among computer users concerning the field of basketball; broadcasting programs over the internet; providing on-line electronic bulletin boards for transmission of messages among computer users concerning a lot of basketball; providing multiple-user access to a global computer information network to participate in interactive polling in the area of basketball; wireless communications services, namely, the transmission of graphics to mobile telephones; wireless electronic transmission of voice signals, data, facsimiles, images, and information; wireless broadband communications services
Wrapping up
The Phoenix Suns have a projected net worth of around 6-7 million USD. Part of this value will be intellectual property, if you don’t file the necessary trademark registration with the USPTO, you won’t have any legal recourse if someone tries to hijack your branding. To protect your hard work, you should consider submitting trademark applications. The Phoenix Suns are well defended from trademark infringement with 40 registered trademarks.
