Major League Pickleball Trademarks
Please note: Gerben IP does not represent Major League Pickleball. This page is provided for informational purposes and reflects information available in public USPTO records.
April 26, 2024
Major League Pickleball is an operator and provider of professional pickleball content. The company’s built on the premise that pickleball makes the world a better and more joyful place. The organization delivers high-quality live broadcasts of pickleball events and experiences to global fans in an effort to elevate and grow the sport.
The snowballing of pickleball as a recreational and professional sport prompted the formation of Major League Pickleball. The company’s popularity has also snowballed, with celebrities such as Heidi Klum and Kevin Durant becoming owners.
Let’s look into the basics of pickleball, how Major League Pickleball works, its ownership structure, and trademarks.
The Basics of Pickleball
Pickleball is a variant of tennis played on a smaller court using paddles and a light, perforated plastic ball that doesn’t fly too fast. It is an easier sport to learn than tennis and more appealing to enthusiasts overwhelmed by tennis’s physical challenges since you cover less court space at a lower speed.
However, more athletic people can play it, too, turning it into a professional sport. Lebron James, a professional athlete, owns part of an expansion team slated to play in Major League Pickleball’s 2023 season.
How Major League Pickleball Works
Major League Pickleball has 12 teams with various names like Jackrabbits, Lions, “the Bus,” and Chimeras. Each team is coed, consisting of two women and two men.
Like Big3, the three-on-three basketball league, Major League Pickleball hosts no home teams. Instead, all teams arrive in one city for a tournament. Each team plays a men’s and women’s doubles match, two mixed-doubles matches, and then a single tiebreaker, if necessary.
The league hosts roughly three events annually. In 2022, the league had events in Austin, Newport Beach, California, and Columbus, Ohio. By October, they had played the Austin and Newport Beach events, with Team BLQK taking the win in Austin and the Ranchers taking the victory in Newport Beach.
The league played its second season in 2022 and has plans of expanding to six tournaments in 2023 with new host cities. The second season had no overall winner, albeit one should be chosen the following season.
The league offered prize money of $1 million for 2022 winners, a figure it plans to increase to $2.4 million in 2023.
For the 2022 season, players were selected in a draft. Teams will be cleared for the 2023 season so that they can be drafted from scratch.
How Ownership Works in Major League Pickleball
Steve Kuhn, a billionaire and former hedge fund manager founded Major League Pickleball. As per the company’s ownership structure, team owners also own equity in the league, which operates as a single entity like Major League Soccer.
Therefore, with the league planning to expand to 16 teams for the 2023 season, the new team owners, including Lebron James, Kevin Love, and Draymond Green, will own equity in the league. Other current owners include James Blake from tennis and Drew Brees from football.
Major League Pickleball’s Events
Major League Pickleball also holds two main pickleball tours, each making 20 to 30 stops a year. These tours act more like tennis or golf tours, featuring singles and doubles events instead of the Major League Pickleball’s team format.
Many top players, including Ben Johns, are signed to exclusive contracts and can’t play in Major League Pickleball or participate in their tours. This provision has been a source of friction among the leagues.
As a result of the exclusive contract provision, Major League Pickleball draws mainly from the Association of Pickleball Professionals Tour.
The league often broadcasts its tours using mainstream sports and social media channels.
Major League Pickleball’s Survival
There’s often considerable skepticism concerning the success of new sports leagues. Historically, many new sports leagues have failed. Moreover, a new sports league pegged on a relatively new sport can be very risky.
Major League Pickleball expects to buck this trend, given the most recent statistics concerning pickleball as a recreational and professional sport.
According to the company, there’s considerable enthusiasm for the game at the grassroots. Per their estimates, roughly over five million people are playing the sport in the U.S. Moreover, their data shows that the sport grew by 40% between 2019 and 2021.
The company views the increasing draw towards the game as a prospect for future ticket buyers and consumers of pickleball-related products such as balls and apparel. They also represent a growing future viewership.
Major League Pickleball Trademarks
Major League Pickleball has sought or obtained federal trademark registration for about eight trademarks. They include “DREAMBREAKER,” “MLPRO,” and “MINOR LEAGUE PICKLEBALL.”
On January 7, 2022, Major League Pickleball sought federal trademark registration for “DREAMBREAKER.” The company intends to use the trademark for its apparel, sports equipment, and organizing, arranging, and conducting events and competitions in the field of paddle sports, racket sports, and court-type sports.
The sports league also sought federal trademark registration for “MLPRO” on January 7, 2022, and intends to use the trademark for organizing, conducting, and arranging events and competitions in court-type sports games.
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IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S Organizing, arranging, and conducting of events and competitions in the field of a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; organizing and conducting of athletic competitions and games in the field of a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; entertainment services in the nature of professional athletes participating and competing in a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; entertainment services, namely, organizing and conducting competitions in the field of a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls, rendered live and recorded for the purpose of distribution through broadcast media; coaching, training and instruction in the field of a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; sports training services in the field of a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; conducting games and exhibitions for educational and entertainment purposes, in the field of a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; instruction in the nature of clinics in the field of a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; providing sports and entertainment information in the field of a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls, via the internet or by cable, satellite, television or radio.
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S Organizing, arranging, and conducting of events and competitions in the field of racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; organizing and conducting of athletic competitions and games in the field of racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; encouraging participation in racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls by establishing rules and providing governance for games, events, and competitions; providing sports information, namely, information regarding rules, organization of tournaments and other competitions, events and exhibitions in the field of racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; providing a web site that provides league player statistics and team information in the field of racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; providing a website featuring information in the field of racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; providing a website featuring non-downloadable videos in the field of racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; entertainment services in the nature of professional athletes participating and competing in racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; rental of outdoor recreational facilities for playing racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; entertainment services, namely, organizing and conducting competitions in the field of racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls, rendered live and recorded for the purpose of distribution through broadcast media; coaching in the field of racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; sports training services in the field of racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; instruction in the nature of clinics in the field of racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; conducting games and exhibitions for educational and entertainment purposes, in the field of racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls; providing sports and entertainment information in the field of racket sports, paddle sports, and a court-type sports game with a net, paddles and balls, via the internet, cable, satellite, television, radio or other forms of transmission media.