USPTO Denies WNBA’s Trademark Application for ‘Detroit Shock’
The WNBA has hit a roadblock in its effort to revive the Detroit Shock name.
The trademark application filed by the WNBA in early 2025 has been refused by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The reason?
Another trademark already exists for the same name.
That ‘other’ trademark registration belongs to Women’s Basketball League Inc., a Michigan-based company that filed its own application for ‘Detroit Shock’ in 2023 and received a registration in February 2025. That registration protects the name for both a clothing brand and a basketball team.
Therefore, when the USPTO examined the WNBA’s application, it found the Women’s Basketball League registration and concluded that the marks cover essentially the same goods and services. Under trademark law, that overlap made this refusal not just likely, but highly expected.
The timing of the refusal is particularly notable. In November 2025, The Michigan Chronicle reported that leaders of the group working to bring a WNBA team back to Detroit said “Shock” was just one of several names under consideration and that no final decision had been made. Yet the existence of the WNBA’s trademark filing suggests the league was already positioning itself to reclaim the legacy name.
The WNBA Previously Owned the Detroit Shock Trademark
One question many Detroit fans might have is this:
How is it that the WNBA doesn’t already own the ‘Detroit Shock’ trademark?
The team even won the WNBA championship at one point.
Back in the early 2000s, the WNBA filed and held multiple trademark registrations for ‘Detroit Shock’ and related logos. But when the team relocated and ceased operations, those registrations were allowed to lapse.
That’s a critical point in U.S. trademark law. A trademark isn’t something you get to keep forever “just in case.” If you stop using the trademark and have no plans to resume using it, the legal implication is that you abandon rights in the trademark.
The policy behind the law is simple:
If companies could lock up names indefinitely without using them, we’d eventually run out of available brands.
That said, it would have been possible to keep the ‘Detroit Shock’ name registered and on life support through minimal use (e.g., selling clothing or hosting events using the name).
Other leagues have been successful in keeping names alive long after a franchise leaves.
The NFL, for example, has continued to maintain registrations for the Houston Oilers long after the team stopped playing, largely by continuing to sell merchandise. The WNBA could have done the same with the ‘Detroit Shock’ name, but it didn’t. That decision, while understandable at the time, now looks a bit shortsighted given today’s expansion discussions.
The WNBA’s Legal Options to Recapture the ‘Detroit Shock’ Name
So what happens next?
The WNBA has a few options. One is to look into the validity of the Women’s Basketball League’s registration. To obtain its registration, that company had to represent to the USPTO that a ‘Detroit Shock’ basketball team exists and that games are being played under that name. Based on a review of its online presence, there are open questions about whether that is actually happening.
If those statements turn out to be false, the registration could be vulnerable to cancellation on grounds of fraud. If that’s the case, I would fully expect the WNBA to file a ‘Petition to Cancel’ that registration in the coming weeks.
The other option is simpler, at least in theory: buy the trademark rights from the current owner, assuming they’re willing to sell.
That said, if the existing registration is valid and enforceable, it could absolutely block the WNBA from using the name for the returning Detroit franchise.
My hunch is that the league will find a way to obtain the trademark. But for now, the ‘Detroit Shock’ name is very much tied up in trademark limbo.
Josh Gerben, Esq.
Josh Gerben, Esq. is a nationally recognized trademark attorney and the founder of Gerben IP. Since launching the firm in 2008, he has overseen the registration of over 10,000 trademarks and handled over 1,500 trademark disputes. Josh's practice focuses on building and defending global trademark portfolios for clients. These clients include entrepreneurs, private equity-backed businesses, athletes, celebrities, and public companies. Frequently quoted by major media outlets like CNBC, CNN, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, Josh is widely regarded as a leading authority in trademark law.
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