Cartoon stick figure holding a basketball and wearing a Harlem Globetrotters jersey next to music notes for “Sweet Georgia Brown” — representing a blog post about the Harlem Globetrotters Sweet Georgia Brown sound mark trademark registration.

Trademark: Harlem Globetrotters Sweet Georgia Brown

First Used: 1948

Registered: 1992

Current Owner: HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS INTERNATIONAL, INC. [1]

Trademark Type: non-traditional trademark; sound mark

Primarily Associated With: entertainment services in the nature of basketball exhibitions [2]

Brief (and likely incomplete) History [3]:

The Harlem Globetrotters Sweet Georgia Brown sound mark is an important part of trademark history – it is one of the oldest, still active sound mark registration in the United States!

“Sweet Georgia Brown” first hit the airwaves in 1925, composed by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard with lyrics by Kenneth Casey. Its playful, whistling melody quickly caught on, becoming a jazz standard recorded by artists ranging from Louis Armstrong to Ella Fitzgerald. The song’s infectious rhythm and easy swing made it an instant crowd-pleaser and one of those pieces of music that audiences could recognize after just a few notes.

The GLOBETROTTERS® [4] (or MAGICIANS OF BASKETBALL® [5] or HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS® [6] in full if you prefer) were founded just a year later in 1926 by Abe Saperstein. The team was originally organized under the name “Savoy Big Five” before settling on “Harlem Globetrotters” in 1927. Despite the Harlem reference, the team was actually born in Chicago, and the Globetrotters moniker was more aspirational than literal at the time. Blending serious basketball talent with crowd-friendly showmanship, the Globetrotters carved out a unique niche in sports entertainment, traveling extensively to bring their fast-paced, comedic style of basketball to audiences across the country and eventually the world.

In December 1948, the Globetrotters started using “Sweet Georgia Brown” as their signature theme, choosing it precisely because the playful bounce of Brother Bones’ whistling version of the song matched their fast-dribbling exhibitions and comic timing. The rhythm echoed the syncopation of their ball-handling tricks, making the music feel almost choreographed to their routines. What started as a clever pairing of song and spectacle quickly became inseparable from the team’s brand. So much so that 75 years later the opening whistle still tells audiences worldwide they’re about to witness a Globetrotters show.

The sound file is available online at https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/74158626.mp3.

[1] The Original Harlem Globetrotters, https://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/.

[2] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,700,895, and available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74158626&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[3] How “Sweet Georgia Brown” Became an Arena Anthem, TRIVIA MAFIA, posted February 9, 2024, and available at https://www.triviamafia.com/fridayknowitall/globetrotters; Sweet Georgia Brown, PHISH NET, available at https://phish.net/song/sweet-georgia-brown/history; Globetrotter History, HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS, available at https://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/about/.

[4] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 542,473, and available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=71571665&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[5] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 662,372, and available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=72020966&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[6] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,374,778, and available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75672216&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.