Phoenix Mercury
Trademark: Phoenix Mercury
First Used: 1997
Registered: 1998
Current Owner: WNBA Enterprises, LLC [1]
Trademark Type: traditional trademark; word mark; design mark
Primarily Associated With: entertainment services in the nature of live basketball games and basketball exhibitions and the production and distribution of radio and television broadcasts of basketball games and exhibitions [2]
Brief (and likely incomplete) History [3]:
Congratulations to the Phoenix Mercury for advancing to the 2025 WNBA® Finals! Over the next few days we will be highlighting some trademark registrations celebrating the WNBA’s championship game, including those owned by Phoenix and Las Vegas. Good luck Mercury!
The Phoenix Mercury was one of the eight original WNBA franchises when the league debuted in 1997. The team’s first head coach was the legendary Cheryl Miller, and in its inaugural game the Mercury beat the Charlotte Sting 79–59 before a crowd of over 16,000. The Mercury found quick success and reached the 1998 Finals, where they fell to the Houston Comets. After a slump in the early 2000s, the team’s fortunes flipped when they drafted Diana Taurasi with the No. 1 pick in 2004 (and later Brittney Griner with the No. 1 pick in 2013). Under a fast-paced offense, Phoenix captured its first WNBA title in 2007 (beating Detroit), then added championships in 2009 (over Indiana) and 2014 (over Chicago).
PHOENIX MERCURY® is a registered word mark used primarily for entertainment services for basketball games [4]. PHOENIX MERCURY® is also a registered word mark for trading cards and stickers, clothing, toys and sporting goods, backpacks and tote bags, and more [5].
The Phoenix Mercury Logo is a registered design mark used primarily for entertainment services for basketball games [6], but also for a variety of other goods and services including trading cards and stickers, athletic bags and backpacks, clothing, toys and sporting goods, online chat rooms, beverageware and kitchenware, computer software, and more [7].
And finally, the M Logo is a registered design mark for entertainment services for basketball games [8] and postcards, newsletters, game programs, and clothing, among others [9].
Interested in learning more about trademarks from other 2025 sporting events? Check out our 2025 posts on College Football National Championship, Super Bowl, March Madness (and Final Four), Stanley Cup, NBA Championship, World Series, and MLS Cup.
Copyright © 2025 by Illustrated IP, LLC. All rights reserved.
[1] Phoenix Mercury, WNBA, https://mercury.wnba.com/.
[2] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,198,951, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75212778&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[3] Phoenix Mercury, BRITTANICA, last updated October 5, 2025, and available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/Phoenix-Mercury; Mercury Ring of Honor, WNBA, available at https://mercury.wnba.com/roh; Phoenix Mercury, EBSCO, published in 2024, and available at https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/sports-and-leisure/phoenix-mercury.
[4] Id. at 2.
[5] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,200,334, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75212776&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,223,139, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75212779&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,198,952, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75212780&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,306,364, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75212781&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[6] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,194,220, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75224211&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[7] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,200,368, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75224199&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,254,052, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75224200&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,173,876, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75224201&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,200,374, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75225399&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,515,254, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76236065&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,517,300, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76236066&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,006,035, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=85211763&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[8] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,274,772, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75224248&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[9] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,352,208, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75224250&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,363,071, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75505566&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.