Hartford Courant Talks to Josh Gerben About “PAIGE BUCKETS” Trademark

University of Connecticut Basketball Player, Paige Bueckers, has filed a trademark application for “Paige Buckets” nickname.

Josh Gerben talks about how the trademark will benefit the UConn star and how other NCAA Athletes should follow her lead.

In an interview with The Courant, trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who first broke the news on Twitter, said that while the federal registration process for a trademark takes about a year, Bueckers doesn’t need to wait until then to sell any “Paige Buckets” products.

According to Gerben, not only does a trademark registration allow Bueckers to protect herself from others profiting off the unauthorized use of her name or likeness, but down the line she could license it to the likes of Nike or Under Armour, who could help her produce her own clothing.

“It’s basically setting up your rights as a business owner to go out in the marketplace and use your trademark as you wish, ” Gerben said. “This would be basically a first step for any athlete that wants to try to protect their brand to go out into the marketplace and sell or license it.”

While Bueckers had an attorney at a prestigious agency file her trademark application, Gerben warns that with college athletes being thrown into the business world, it’s imperative for them to get the right advice from trusted individuals, and when it comes to trademarks, consult people who will make them “aware that this is something that’s available for them and then do it the correct way.”

“I think other athletes could take a page, no pun intended, out of Paige’s playbook and look to protect their trademarks,” Gerben said. “There’s a lot more out there that could be done at this point.”

Source: Philippou, Alexa. Courant.com. “Paige Bueckers files trademark application for nickname ‘Paige Buckets.’ Here’s what it means for the UConn women’s basketball star”. 03 August 2021.