The Charlotte Hornets are an NBA team that plays in the Eastern Conference Southeast Division. Starting as an expansion team in 1988 in Charlotte, the team moved to New Orleans in 2002. In 2004, Charlotte created another expansion team, named the Bobcats since the name Hornets was already in use.
The team got to the task of creating a new brand, some of which we’ll see trademarks for later. NBA hall-of-fame legend Michael Jordan owns a portion of the team now.
The Charlotte Hornets are well known for their mascot, Hugo the hornet. While the Hornets were in New Orleans, they’d relocate to Oklahoma for several seasons due to substantial damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. Luckily for the Bobcats, when the Hornets changed hands in 2012, the New Orleans division changed its name to the New Orlean Pelicans, and the Bobcats got to become the Charlotte Hornets once more.
The Charlotte Hornets affiliate with the Hornets Venom GT (an NBA 2k team).
Famous Charlotte Hornet trademarks
The Hornets have filed many trademarks, particularly upon reclaiming their original name. There are also trademarks linked to affiliations, marketing material, and merchandise. These span a few moves of the “Hornets” team, from Charlotte to New Orleans and back. Let’s look at the most popular Hornet trademarks registered under Hornets Basketball LLC.
New Orleans Hornets
Owing to their stint in New Orleans, the Hornets still own the trademark rights to the name. Registered in 2004, the trademark applies in the following categories:
- Entertainment and educational services related to basketball, exhibitions, and rendered live basketball games
- Entertainment services, including providing a website for TV highlights, video recordings, interactive video highlight sections, audio recordings, and other media related to basketball
- Video games, children’s party games, board games, and interactive computer games for adults and children
Charlotte Bobcats
In addition to the New Orleans Hornets, Hornets Basketball LLC continue to trademark the name Charlotte Bobcats. The trademark for the name was registered in 2005 (following its first use in 2004) for the following categories:
- Clothing including footwear, wind-resistant jackets, jerseys, aprons, boxer shorts, etc
- Publications and printed matter, including decals, trading cards, novelty basketball cards, etc
- Christmas cards
- Toys, games, and sporting goods, namely basketballs, golf balls, playground balls, sports balls, rubber action balls and foam action balls, plush balls, basketball nets, basketball backboards, pumps for inflating basketballs, and needles; golf clubs, golf bags, golf putters, golf accessories, namely, divot repair tools, tees, ball markers, golf bag covers, club head covers, golf gloves, golf ball sleeves, electronic basketball tabletop games, basketball tabletop games, basketball board games, action skill games, adult’s and children’s party games
- Trivia information games and electronic video arcade game machines, basketball kit comprised of a net and whistle, dolls, decorative dolls, collectible dolls, toy action figures, bobblehead action figures, stuffed toys, jigsaw puzzles and Christmas tree ornaments, Christmas stockings; toy vehicles like cars, trucks, and vans, all containing basketball themes, toy fingers, card games, playing cards
- Action skill games
- Entertainment and educational services related to basketball, basketball exhibitions, and rendered live basketball games
- Entertainment services include providing a website for TV highlights, video recordings, interactive video highlight sections, audio recordings, and other media related to basketball
Hornets Venom GT
The trademark application for the Hornets Venom GT consists of the front-on view of a hornet head design and ‘hornets’ written beneath it, with the larger stylized words Venom GT written below that.
- Entertaining and educational services regarding competitions, sports tournaments, and more
- Providing a website that’s related to news and information
- Broadcasting and streaming audio, visual and audiovisual materials related to sports competitions and games
- Radio and broadcasting services
- Webcasting services regarding online chat rooms
- Toys, games, and sporting goods, namely basketballs, golf balls, playground balls, sports balls, rubber action balls and foam action balls, plush balls, basketball nets, basketball backboards, pumps for inflating basketballs, and needles; golf clubs, golf bags, golf putters, golf accessories, namely, divot repair tools, tees, ball markers, golf bag covers, club head covers, golf gloves, golf ball sleeves, electronic basketball tabletop games, basketball tabletop games, basketball board games, action skill games, adult’s and children’s party games
- Trivia information games and electronic video arcade game machines, basketball kit comprised of a net and whistle, dolls, decorative dolls, collectible dolls, toy action figures, bobblehead action figures, stuffed toys, jigsaw puzzles and Christmas tree ornaments, Christmas stockings; toy vehicles like cars, trucks, and vans, all containing basketball themes, toy fingers, card games, playing cards
- Clothing includes footwear, wind-resistant jackets, jerseys, aprons, boxer shorts, etc
- Audio recordings and video recordings
- Electronic games and sports
- Screen savers
- Cellphone accessories, telephones, and wireless telephones
- Laptops and tablets
- Electronic publications related to magazines
- Blank flash USB drives
Charlotte Bobcats logo
The Bobcats logo consists of a side-on view of a bobcat beneath the stylized words “Charlotte Bobcats.” The logo was first registered in 2005, following its first use in 2004. The logo is registered for use in the following:
- Clothing including footwear, wind-resistant jackets, sportswear, athletic bags, underwear jerseys, aprons, boxer shorts, etc
- Entertainment and educational services related to basketball, basketball exhibitions, and rendered live basketball games
- Goods and services such as entertainment services including providing a website for TV highlights, video recordings, interactive video highlight sections, audio recordings, and other media related to basketball
- Video games, children’s party games, board games, and interactive computer games for adults and children
- Toys, games, and sporting goods, namely basketballs, golf balls, playground balls, sports balls, rubber action balls and foam action balls, plush balls, basketball nets, basketball backboards, pumps for inflating basketballs, and needles; golf clubs, golf bags, golf putters, golf accessories, namely, divot repair tools, tees, ball markers, golf bag covers, club head covers, golf gloves, golf ball sleeves, electronic basketball tabletop games, basketball tabletop games, basketball board games, action skill games, adult’s and children’s party games
- Publications and printed matter, namely basketball trading cards, cards, stickers, decals, commemorative basketball stamps, collectible cardboard trading discs, memo boards, clipboards, paper coasters, postcards, placemats of paper, and note cards, playing cards, memo pads, note pads
- Ballpoint pens, rubber bands, pencils, pen and paper holders, desktop document stands, 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, children’s coloring books, statistical books, guide books
- Reference books in the field of basketball, magazines in the field of basketball, catalogs featuring basketball, commemorative game and souvenir programs, paper pennants, stationery, stationery-type portfolios, postcards, invitation cards, certificates, greeting cards, Christmas cards, holiday cards, statistical sheets for basketball topics, newsletters, brochures, pamphlets, and game schedules in the field of basketball, bank checks, checkbook covers, checkbook holders, credit cards and telephone calling cards not magnetically encoded; lunch bags
- Trivia information games and electronic video arcade game machines, basketball kit comprised of a net and whistle, dolls, decorative dolls, collectible dolls, toy action figures, bobblehead action figures, stuffed toys, jigsaw puzzles and Christmas tree ornaments, Christmas stockings; toy vehicles like cars, trucks, and vans, all containing basketball themes, toy fingers, card games, playing cards
Related: How to trademark a logo
Wrapping up
There is an array of Charlotte Hornets trademarks, with Hornets Basketball LLC completing more than 30 trademark filings to date. Registering your trademark with the USPTO is a great way to protect your intellectual property, trademark registration is the first step to ensuring you have proper legal recourse in the case of infringement.
