A LESSON IN BRANDING FROM THE ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS
In our September 2018 blogpost we raised concerns about potential trademark issues regarding the newly selected name and proposed logos for Madison, Alabama’s new AA baseball team dubbed the “Rocket City Trash Pandas”. The concern was that the proposed branding could conflict with trademark and copyright registrations held by Marvel Characters, Inc. for Guardians of the Galaxy®️ movie character Rocket Raccoon®️. Shortly after our post, a report indicated that those concerns were echoed by the Madison City Council. In response, Trash Pandas’ owner assured the Council that they had “dotted our I’s and crossed our T’s on the trademark searches”
The resulting Trash Panda logos and branding that were unveiled on October 27, 2018 reflected a decisive pivot away from the mock logo that first appeared on Facebook and that was featured in our previous post. Gone was the snarling, snarky flak-jacket wearing raccoon Rocket. In its place is a smiling, rocket fin adorned trash can wearing raccoon Sprocket. The marked difference in design is almost certainly attributable to the Trash Pandas’ desire to avoid a trademark dispute with Marvel. A good move on their part.
Maybe even a great move. In only thirteen months after the branding release, the Trash Pandas surpassed the $2 million mark in merchandise sales. But for their late start on the 2019 season, the Trash Pandas almost certainly would have cracked the Top 25 in merchandise sales among minor league baseball teams. Keep an eye out for them when the numbers for 2019 are released in July. Given that the average merchandise sales for all 160 minor league teams is less than $500,000 per team, their $2 million should put them squarely in the top 25 when the figures are released this summer.
Another thing that the Trash Pandas did right was to seek early registration of their mark. As we reported in September 2018, Trash Pandas owner BallCorps filed two applications with the U.S. Trademark Office for registration of the name TRASH PANDAS in July 2018. On December 3, 2019 they were granted U.S. Trademark Registration No. 5,927,921 for use in connection with paper goods and printed matter, namely, autograph books, binders, bookmarks, bumper stickers, calendars, catalogs in the field of baseball, decals, merchandise bags, newsletters in the field of baseball, note pads, paper containers, paper pennants, paper game schedules for sporting events, pens, pencils, postcards, posters, printed awards, printed game tickets for sporting events, printed guides in the field of baseball, reference books in the field of baseball, score books, score cards, score sheets, stationery, stickers, sticker albums, and sports trading cards, and clothing, namely, aprons, athletic uniforms, bandanas, boxer shorts, caps being headwear, cloth baby bibs, coats, golf shirts, gym shorts, hats, jackets, jerseys, knit shirts, pajamas, polo shirts, ponchos, pullovers, rain coats, rainwear, sweaters, sweat pants, sweat shirts, socks, sport shirts, t-shirts, tank tops, ties, visors being headwear, wind resistant jackets, and wristbands as clothing. The other application, which seeks registration for entertainment services in the nature of baseball games and exhibitions, should issue before opening day on April 15, 2020.
Selecting a brand for your business can be daunting. It’s important to ensure that you don’t infringe on the rights of others and to properly protect your interest in the potential millions in revenue that a good brand can create. We are pleased to see that Trash Pandas owner BallCorp did branding right! If you need someone to help you navigate the legal issues associated with branding, we are here to help. Contact us to see how we can help you leverage your brand!
