Speculative question: who trademarked "Big 16"?

[upstater]

Or Big 14, for that matter.

Who owns the trademarks? How does one find out?

 

[SAMCRO]

The B12 owns the trademark to Big 14, not sure if they also trademarked Big 16.

 

[Ldandy]

I believe they are both held by The Big 12-2.

 

[upstater]

Thanks

 

[jostar1]

Jim Delany: No matter how many teams it adds, the Big Ten's name will likely never change

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany recalls a time during the early days of the Big Ten's move to 12 teams when ex-Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe called him with a bit of an offer.
"He offered the following trade," Delany began. "He said 'you're now at 12, we're now at 10, having lost Nebraska and Colorado. Could we become the Big Ten, and you become the Big 12?'
"I thought, 'I don't think so.' "
Delany, speaking alongside Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon on Wednesday at WWJ-AM's "Business of Sports" luncheon in Detroit, was asked if the league -- which has now expanded to 14 teams with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers -- would ever consider changing its name.
Delany remarked that at one time long ago -- when the Big Ten added an 11th team in Penn State -- he thought it might be worth a shot.
No one else agreed.
And, according to him, no one likely ever will.

http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2014/04/jim_delany_no_matter_how_many.html

 

[kibblesnbits]

I believe they are both held by The Big 12-2.

You can get a trademark through marked use (TM) or by registering it (R) with the patent and trademark office. The Big 12 filed for and then abandoned applications for "Big 14" (see: http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=toc&state=4802:7gdi3.1.1&p_search=searchss&p_L=50&BackReference=&p_plural=yes&p_s_PARA1=&p_tagrepl~:=PARA1$LD&expr=PARA1 AND PARA2&p_s_PARA2=Big 14&p_tagrepl~:=PARA2$COMB&p_op_ALL=AND&a_default=search&a_search=Submit Query&a_search=Submit Query). There is no record of them filing for Big 16. So, unless they've used and marked them in public documents, they have no claim to either name.

 

[Ldandy]

You can get a trademark through marked use (TM) or by registering it (R) with the patent and trademark office. The Big 12 filed for and then abandoned applications for "Big 14" (see: http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=toc&state=4802:7gdi3.1.1&p_search=searchss&p_L=50&BackReference=&p_plural=yes&p_s_PARA1=&p_tagrepl~:=PARA1$LD&expr=PARA1 AND PARA2&p_s_PARA2=Big 14&p_tagrepl~:=PARA2$COMB&p_op_ALL=AND&a_default=search&a_search=Submit Query&a_search=Submit Query). There is no record of them filing for Big 16. So, unless they've used and marked them in public documents, they have no claim to either name.

Interesting. I could have sworn I read an article a while back about The Big 12 registering both.

 

[B1GALUM]

Or Big 14, for that matter.

Who owns the trademarks? How does one find out?

You can search here: http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=4802:4jrzxa.1.1
Based on a brief search, Big 16 does not appear to be trademarked; however, there is a trademark for The Big 16 by Vibrant Health Products: http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4802:4jrzxa.8.2
Regardless, as jostar1 documented in the above link, the Big Ten/B1G will likely never change the name of the conference even if additional teams are added down the road.

 

[SAMCRO]

Big 12 had the Big 14 word mark.
"If Big Ten expansion adds three teams in this cycle? Well, the Big 14 is already trademarked, by ... you guessed it, the Big 12. The conference has been rolling over the trademark to protect that name for years. But that would be free game as well if the Big 12 as we know it ceases to exist.
What about the Big 16, if expansion, now or later, includes five total teams? The name is taken by a Canadian bakery, it appears, but is otherwise open."

http://www.cleveland.com/buckeyeblog/index.ssf/2010/06/big_ten_expansion_details_shou.html
And I read an article posted in a TCU board years ago saying the B8 originally trademarked the name, the the B12 took it (however that works?).

After doing a quick search on trademarks, it looks like they may have abandoned the word mark Big 14.