For those of you that haven’t heard, the National Football League (“NFL”) recently approved the relocation of the Saint Louis Rams football organization to Los Angeles. As expected, that news, announced on January 12, 2016, led to the filing of multiple trademark applications for the LOS ANGELES RAMS and LA RAMS names by the St. Louis Rams, LLC.
In the deal to move the Rams to L.A., the NFL also approved a clause giving another team, the San Diego Chargers, a one-year window to decide whether or not it wants to relocate and join the Rams in their proposed stadium in Inglewood, California. Following suite, the Chargers Football Company, LLC filed two federal trademark applications on January 14th for LA CHARGERS and LOS ANGELES CHARGERS.
The applications cover a variety of goods and services and have been filed as “intent-to-use” applications (“ITU”). ITU applications are used when someone has not yet begun using the name to cover a specific set of goods or services. In this case, since the Chargers have not yet made the move or are marketing as the “Los Angeles Chargers,” it is simply a play to reserve the name in case the move to Los Angeles is made.
Below is a snapshot of the goods and services protected under these applications:
