The Carolina Panthers – often referred to as “The Panthers”, are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina that was established in 1993. The Panthers play in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The team is headquartered and plays its home games at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Despite the team’s announcement as the league’s 29th franchise in 1993, the Panthers first played in 1995 as one of the first expansion teams since 1976. Carolina became the most successful expansion franchise in league history when it won 7 of its 16 games in its inaugural season.
Since its creation, the Panthers have won two conference championships – in 2003 and 2015, which both saw them compete in the Super Bowl of each respective year. However, their early track record of success did not last, and after a losing record of five of six years, including a one-win season in 2001, that led to the hiring of team manager and head coach John Fox, who coached from 2002 – 2010.
Other known coaches that have led the Carolina Panthers include Ron Rivera (2011 – 2019), Matt Rhule (2020 – 2022), and Steve Wilks, who is currently named as interim head whilst the team is in a stage of rebuilding.
Current Panthers trademarks
The Carolina Panthers own a variety of trademarks and intellectual property, which support their commercial efforts, colorful history, and philanthropic operations. The Panthers have a loyal fanbase and use that loyalty combined with their striking team colors and branding to create a community experience. Despite having over 20 registered trademarks listed with the USPTO, they do not extensively list where they apply. Let’s look at some of the Panthers’ registrations.
Carolina Panthers
The trademark was registered in 1997 by Panthers Football LLC and applies to:
- Entertainment services, namely professional football games, and exhibition games
- Posters, calendars, trading cards, sports books, magazines, notepads, stickers, and bumper stickers
- Men, women’s and children’s clothing, including fleece tops and bottoms, T-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, sweaters, pants, and jackets
- Swimwear, sleepwear, wind wear, pajamas, boots, and sneakers
- Bowling balls, bowling bags, and footballs
- Football helmets, cell phone covers, computer games software
- Jewelry, watches, clocks, pins, earrings, bracelets, charms, commemorative and collectible coins made of precious metal, pendants, and keychains made of precious metal
Panther logo
Since the club started in the 90s, there haven’t been any significant changes to the team logo. The first edition of the logo was incredibly modern for the time, of a blank panther with its mouth open, drawn in black with blue accents. It also had white accents for the eyes, nose, teeth, and mustache.
The logo went under a small redesign in 2013, but with no major changes. The lines and accents of the black panther were refined, and the colors were adapted to become a more contemporary and smoother image. The white was only kept on the eyes and the teeth, and the nose and whiskers now match the blue accents.
The Panther team logo was first registered in 1996 by Panthers Football LLC and applies to:
- Entertainment services, namely professional football games, and exhibition games
- Posters, calendars, trading cards, sports books, magazines, notepads, stickers, and bumper stickers
- Men, women’s and children’s clothing, including fleece tops and bottoms, T-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, sweaters, pants, and jackets
- Swimwear, sleepwear, wind wear, pajamas, boots, and sneakers
- Bowling balls, bowling bags, and footballs
Keep Pounding
The phrase “Keep Pounding” was used by Sam Mills, a linebacker turned assistant coach, during an emotional speech to the team prior to a playoff game versus the Dallas Cowboys in 2003. Earlier in the year, Mills had been diagnosed with intestinal cancer and given three months to live. Three months after his diagnosis, he delivered a heartfelt speech and spoke about dedication to teammates, their commitment and never giving up. After telling the team to “Keep Pounding”, the words resonated with the team.
This trademark was registered in 2008 by Panthers Football LLC and applies to:
- Charitable fundraising services, raising funds for cancer research by means of the sale of wristbands, caps, and keychains
- Charitable fundraising services by means of organizing and conducting special events
- Insulating sleeve holders for beverage cans
- Fabric flags and pennants
- Paper goods and printed material, including pamphlets and brochures in the fields of healthcare, medical research, fundraising, charitable activities, and charitable events
- Clothing, namely shirts and jerseys
- Toys and sporting goods, namely miniature balls
- Metal license plates
Related: Can you trademark a slogan?
Belong
The phrase “Belong” refers to a marketing game the Panthers created as a method of inspiring fans to buy seats and season tickets to upcoming games. This trademark was registered in 2013 and owned by Panthers Football LLC and applies to:
- Clothing, namely shirts and headwear
The Fifty One Club
The Fifty One Club is a private member club at the Bank of America Stadium. The club takes its name from the number of the jersey worn by former player and coach Sam Mills, and the number worn by former owner Jerry Richardson when he played for Wofford College.
The trademark for the Fifty One Club was registered in 2017 by Panthers Football LLC and applies to:
- Arranging for ticket reservations for premium seating at professional football games
- Providing sports and entertainment information about professional football games and premium seating
- Entertainment services including a private club for fans of professional football that provides premium seating at professional football games by arranging for ticket reservations
“The Vault” and “The Gallery”
The Bank of America Stadium offers elevated guest experiences on match days. Two of these experiences are called “The Vault” and “The Gallery”.
The Vault is a game day lounge experience with all-inclusive food and drink, field-side seating and access, and other VIP experience add-ons. The Gallery is a set of suites and clubs to offer an intimate group experience with VIP amenities.
The trademark for “The Vault” was registered in 2022, and the trademark for The Gallery was filed in 2021 and is still pending. Both of these trademarks apply to:
- Arranging for ticket reservations for premium seating at professional football games
- Providing sports and entertainment information about professional football games and premium seating
- Entertainment services including a private club for fans of professional football that provides premium seating at professional football games by arranging for ticket reservations
Wrapping up
Trademark filing is common practice as a method of protecting intellectual property. The Carolina Panthers franchise is valued at $3.6 million dollars, so the protection of the team’s branding, key imagery, and phrasing is a priority.
With over 20 trademarks currently filled, the Panthers have an extensive portfolio that can continue to grow. There is room to expand the parameters of the current filings, but also for other arms of the Panthers brand. For example, the mascot for the Panthers, Sir Purr, could be protected and trademarked for entertainment services and personal appearances.
