The San Antonio Spurs are a US-based professional basketball team based in San Antonio. They compete in the NBA (National Basketball Association) as a member of the Western Conference’s southwest division.
The Spurs were born when a group of investors bought the Dallas Chaparrals from the ABA in 1973, and the investors held a contest to choose the team’s new name. The most popular choice was the Aztecs, but the Spurs were selected as it was unique. One of the founding investors was from Spur, Texas.
The Spurs are one of only four American Basketball Association (ABA) teams to stay intact after the 1976 merger between the NBA and the ABA. They are the only former ABA team to win an NBA championship, and they won several titles in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014. As of May 2017, the Spurs had the highest winning percentage out of any team in the sports leagues of North America for over 30+ years.
In the 2019-20 season, the Spurs boasted the best winning percentage among active NBA teams.
The Spurs have an exciting history; from 1999-2000 and 2016-17, the Spurs won 50 games each season, with a record of an 18-win streak. In 2018, the Spurs consecutively matched an NBA record for most playoff appearances.
The team’s successes largely coincided with head coach Gregg Popovich’s tenure and with the playing careers of Tim Duncan (1997-2016) and David Robinson (1989-2003). The Spurs will celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2022. The Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, and Phoenix Suns have long-running rivalries. The team plays its home games at the AT&T Arena.
Famous San Antonio Spurs trademarks
The San Antonio Spurs LLC owns a variety of trademarks and intellectual property. They’re a recognizable team with a black, silver, and white color scheme and unique logos. They have a unique history and are worth more than $1 billion, making them a contender for the most valuable NBA team. Let’s take a look at some of the most well-known Spurs trademarks.
San Antonio Spurs
The first and most significant trademark registration on this list is for the team name. The San Antonio Spurs trademark was first registered in 1973 and applies to:
- Entertainment services related to basketball games and exhibition
- Hosiery, T-shirts, sweatshirts, jerseys, headbands, and other clothing
- Belt buckles, clocks, watches, lapel pins, and other accessories
- Commemorative and ceremonial programs related to basketball
- Invitation cards, printed certificates, greeting cards, Christmas cards, holiday cards, and informational statistical sheets for basketball topics
- Basketball trading cards, decals, stickers, book covers, guidebooks, newsletters, paper pennants, stationery-type portfolios, and other printed material
- Cloth banners, beach towels, blankets, flags, and cloth pennants
- Basketballs, golf balls, clubs, tabletop games, and other sporting goods
- Dolls, jigsaw puzzles, stuffed toys, and other toys
- Jewelry, costume jewelry, beaded jewelry; rubber or silicon wristbands that are worn as a bracelet, beaded necklaces, beads for use in the manufacture of jewelry; earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets, cuff links, pendants, charms for collar jewelry, and bracelets
- Entertainment services broadcast over TV and radio
- Providing online newsletters and magazines related to basketball, online opinion polls, and other computer services
- Bags for shoes, sportswear, luggage, overnight, and other bags
- Pet leashes and collars
- Toiletry cases
- Handbags, key cases, and leather products
Bull’s head
The bull’s head design mark may be a surprise on this list, but it belongs to the Spurs and has since 2013. The mark consists of an image of an angry, snorting bull’s head. The trademark registration applies to:
- Magazines, books, and other publications related to ice hockey
- Stickers, pens, playing cards, and posters related to ice hockey
- Water bottles, shot glasses and cups, and mugs
- Cloth and felt pennants
- T-shirts, jerseys, caps, jackets, and other clothing
- Toy hockey pucks, sticks, and sporting goods
- Plush toys, novelty items, and other toys
- Entertainment, including professional hockey games
San Antonio Rampage
The San Antonio Rampage was a professional American hockey team belonging to the Spurs. The mark consists of an image of a charging, snorting bull appearing under the words “San Antonio ” and above the word “rampage” The mark was registered in 2013 for use in:
- T-shirts, jerseys, caps, jackets, and other clothing
- Toy hockey pucks, sticks, and sporting goods
- Plush toys, novelty items, and other toys
- Entertainment, including professional hockey games
- Magazines, newsletters, books, and other publications related to ice hockey
- Stickers, pens, and posters related to ice hockey
- Water bottles shot glasses and cups, and mugs
- Cloth and felt pennants
SA Basketball logo
The SA Basketball design consists of a basketball with the letters “SA” on it. The trademark filing was completed in 2017 for the following categories:
- Tumblers for use as drinking glasses, insulating sleeve holders for bottles
- Pillows
- Hosiery, footwear, basketball shoes, basketball sneakers, T-shirts, shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, pants, tank tops, jerseys, shorts, pajamas, sport shirts, rugby shirts, sweaters, belts, ties, nightshirts, hats, caps, and other clothing
- Cloth and fabric pennants; bed, bath, and household linens, sheets, blankets, comforters, curtains, draperies, quilts, bedspreads, towels, pillowcases, and shams, dish towels, golf towels, textile tablecloths, and placemats, stadium blankets, throw blankets, cloth handkerchiefs, cloth flags, unfitted fabric furniture covers, and shower curtains
- Decals, temporary tattoo transfers, unmounted and mounted photographs, and posters
- Retail store services, computerized online retail store services, online ordering services, electronic retail store services via computer, and electronic mail order catalog services, all featuring an array of basketball-themed merchandise; promoting the goods and services of others by arranging for sponsors to affiliate these goods and services with a basketball program
- Promoting the sale of goods and services of others through the distribution of promotional contests provided over the internet; conducting public opinion poll surveys and public opinion poll surveys in the field of basketball for non-business, non-marketing purposes over the internet
Related: Trademarking a logo, step by step
Go Spurs Go
The Spurs trademarked the slogan ‘‘Go Spurs Go’’. The wordmark was registered with the trademark office in 2019 for use in:
- Cloth banners, cloth wall hangings, cloth, and fabric pennants; bed, bath, and household linens, bed sheets, bed blankets, comforters, curtains, draperies, quilts, bedspreads, towels, pillowcases, and shams, dish towels, golf towels, textile tablecloths, and placemats, stadium blankets, throw blankets, cloth handkerchiefs, cloth flags, unfitted fabric furniture covers, shower curtains; sleeping bags; plastic flags
- Hosiery, footwear, basketball shoes, sneakers, T-shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, pants, tank tops, jerseys, shorts, pajamas, sport shirts, rugby shirts, sweaters, belts, ties, nightshirts, hats, caps, and other clothing
Wrapping up
Registering your trademarks with the USPTO can save you plenty of legal headaches and possibly millions of dollars. You must protect your unique brand from infringement if you have a significant brand name. The Spurs have taken steps to protect some of their intellectual property, including the Spurs logo. But some areas are lacking.
Despite owning trademarks for some other teams, the Spurs don’t have many registrations for their team. The only slogan they’ve registered is ‘‘Go Spurs Go’’. They could expand their portfolio further by including a trademark for their Coyote mascot, a team favorite that was inducted into the mascot’s hall of fame in 2007.
