National Basketball Association - Charlotte Expansion Franchise

Charlotte Expansion Franchise Choosing Name

Charlotte Counts? Don't count on it

D.C. attorney, friend of Johnson, registered name at patent office

SCOTT DODD
Staff Writer

Could Charlotte's new NBA team be called the "Counts"?

A search of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filings turned up this little item: a trademark application for the Charlotte Counts, filed Dec. 27 for owner Bob Johnson's holding company in Washington, D.C.

Stated purpose of the trademark: "Clothing" and "entertainment ... namely, professional basketball exhibitions."

Intriguing? Oh yeah.

But not, as it turns out, the answer to the question that's been dominating recent talk about Charlotte's expansion franchise.

"Counts" was applied for by Edward Gray, a Washington attorney at a firm that specializes in intellectual property law.

And, it just so happens, a friend of Johnson's who had dinner with him recently.

According to Ed Tapscott, executive vice president of the new team, Johnson, Gray and others at the table were throwing out possible names.

Gray liked "Counts" so much he decided to register it "as a bit of a lark," Tapscott said.

"I wouldn't attach any particular significance to it," he added.

Gray wouldn't comment.

The application, though, is still alive and pending. The cost of submitting it: $335 per purpose listed, according to the U.S. patent office. Gray's application had two: clothing and entertainment.

So is there any chance Johnson is thinking of calling his team the Counts? He was traveling Monday, appearing on CNN with NBA Commissioner David Stern, and couldn't be reached for comment by The Observer.

But Tapscott said he hadn't heard the name before Monday.

"We've had some odd ideas thrown out," Tapscott said, "but that's not one of them."

The plan, he said, is to continue taking suggestions from the public, then hire public relations and marketing people to refine the choices. He's not sure if a vote will be held -- similar to when Charlotte's former NBA team offered the public six ideas -- but the team does want to seek the public's opinion in some way.

"The community here will play a vital role in the naming process," Tapscott said. "We're trying to come up with the best way to get the city involved."

A decision is due to the NBA for approval by early spring. The team will be named "Charlotte," not Carolina, according to the city's contract with Johnson.

Sports marketing consultant Marc Ganis said it's common practice for a team to register possible names before settling on one, to avoid legal problems.

"If you find a name that you like and it's not taken, you grab it," Ganis said. "You want to make it as clean as possible."

The NFL, for instance, had to pay someone for the name Baltimore Ravens because it has been previously registered. The Carolina Panthers spent years trying to secure the panthers.com Web site.

No other trademark applications turned up for what appears to be a Charlotte basketball team.

"Counts" is not popular among more than 2,000 suggestions sent to Johnson via the Charlotte Regional Sports Commission, or in submissions to The Observer.

A lot of ideas have played on the Queen City theme, however, including Monarchs and Royals. And Johnson liked the name "Knights" before he knew it was taken by Charlotte's Class AAA baseball team.

Ganis said Counts might not sound great at first, but it has a lot of potential for the city.

"It's a play on the royalty notion, it's got the alliteration of the double-C," he said. "It's especially good because no one else has it. That's extremely rare nowadays.

"I think it could grow on you."

Scott Dodd: (704) 358-5168; sdodd@charlotteobserver.com.

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