Since 1969, there has been a trademark on the use of Super Bowl. Just two years after the initial matchup, the NFL filed paperwork early on to ensure they could control the use of their term. In decades sense, they’ve enforced this trademark by sending cease-and-desist letters and taken violators to court.
However, it’s less known that the term threepeat – a portmanteau of three and repeat – is also trademarked. It’s owned by Pat Riley, owner of the Miami Heat.
The term threepeat was first heard in professional sports in the late 90s when the LA Lakers attempted to win their third consecutive championship. Facing off against the Detroit Pistons in the 1988-1989 finals, the Pistons won the meetup 4-0. It featured top names like Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson for the Lakers and Dennis Rodman and Isiah Thomas for the Pistons. Though the team didn’t cinch the third win, it was an event that launched “threepeat” into the world of sports.
It was the Lakers’ head coach, Pat Riley, who took the trademark. Having coached the team since 1981, he obtained ownership of the trademark in 1989. Before that, it was registered to Bijan Khezri, the original owner who filed legal documents. Khezri, who now works as a strategy consultant, is a former private investor and founded his company, Threepeat, in 1988. He remains the executive director of the brand today.
Khezri’s original filing called for permission for the term threepeat or three-peat to be used on shirts, jackets, and hats. Khezri later assigned the trademark to Riley, who sought it out in preparation for the Lakers’ third championship appearance.
In 1993 when the Chicago Bulls pulled off a third-consecutive NBA championship, Riley and Co. collected royalties on fan merchandise. The event led Riles & Co.’s Riley company, to add further restrictions to the term. They again collected royalties when the Bulls pulled off another threepeat between 1996-1998, when the New York Yankees won three consecutive pennants from 1998-2000, and when the Lakers eventually got their threepeat between 2000-2002.
Between the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB, this was the last threepeat on the history books.
Lawsuits have challenged the trademark, calling it too common for the royalties to continue, but it has yet to be overturned in court. In addition, a 2005 filing was requested for the trademark of three-Pete after USC’s then-coach, Pete Carroll (now coach of the Las Vegas Raiders), but it was ruled that the term was too similar, despite the spelling changed, and fans were unable to obtain the trademark.
Riles & Co. makes 5% of revenue made from items containing “threepeat.” In 1993 he brought in $300,000 and almost $600,000 in 1998. If the Kansas City Chiefs win their third consecutive Super Bowl, he is estimated to make more than $1 million. Though he has not spoken publicly about the upcoming NFL game, he has previously announced that most of the royalties are given to charity.
Today, Riles & Co. owns six trademarks on threepeat and similar spellings, like three-peat and 3-peat. It includes hats, jackets, shirts, posters, collector plates, paperweights, backpacks, computer bags, jewelry, and energy/sports drinks, as well as water with vitamins.
Meanwhile, fitness training under 3 peat is registered to a company in Delaware, while an ag company out of Kentucky has a trademark under fertilizer for 3-peat.
