NBA Miami Heat President and Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Pat Riley may have more than an emotional investment on LeBron, D-Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat’s hunt for a third title.
He has a financial stake too.
Did you
know Riley’s Riles and Co. owns the trademark to “Three-peat” and “3-peat,” the catchy phrases commonly used to describe a sports team that wins back-to-back-back titles?According to Bloomberg, any business entity, wanting to use the term for commercial purposes, would
have to either obtain permission or pay a royalty to Riley who trademarked the phrases in 1994. It also includes posters, bumper stickers, mugs and collector plates. Another filing in 2010 with the The U.S Patent and Trademark office now includes hats, jackets and shirts.According to Bloomberg, “Riley’s initial trademark application was made in 1988 after the team he coached at the time, the L.A Lakers had won two straight championships. The phrase was registered in August 1989, two months after the Detroit Pistons
swept the Lakers in the NBA finals preventing L.A from the becoming the first team to win three consecutive titles since the Celtics during the mid-60’s.” That trademark was canceled in 2012.Check out the rest of the story at Bloomberg.