Descriptive Intent-to-Use Trademark Applications – A Filing that Could Strike Out

As Major League Baseball (“MLB”) Opening Day arrives, one MLB club has more than baseball on its mind. On December 29, 2025, the USPTO refused intent-to-use trademark applications for LAS VEGAS ATHLETICS and VEGAS ATHLETICS, on the basis that the trademarks are geographically descriptive. Furthermore, the Athletics baseball team’s claim of acquired distinctiveness based upon [...]