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Trademark filings reveal the new logos of the Houston Comets, one of the WNBA’s original franchises that’s returning next season.
On Wednesday, the WNBA filed eight trademark applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office which show four designs. Each design has two applications: one for the use of entertainment and broadcast services, and another to include in clothing and other merchandise.
The team is expected to officially unveil the logos Thursday, teasing the announcement on their social media pages.
The logos include a primary “H” logo that has a basketball-shaped comet moving through the letter. The team’s circle logo has “Houston Comets” written around the same “H” logo.
There are also two additional logos that read “Houston” and “Comets” that both have the basketball-shaped comet within the letters.
According to trademark law expert Josh Gerben, who first noted the WNBA’s trademark applications on his website, it’s important for teams to file trademark applications before they officially announce to avoid potential headaches.
“You don’t want to announce new logos and have squatters go out and file all the trademarks,” Gerben said.
Gerben said the USPTO will review the applications in the coming months, but the team is free to use the logos immediately: “When you file trademark applications, you get a priority date nationally as of the date you file it. And they got priority as of yesterday.”
The Comets, who were one of the eight founding franchises of the WNBA, were discontinued in 2008. But they will return to Houston next season after owner Tilman Fertitta, who also owns the NBA’s Rockets, purchased the Connecticut Sun earlier this year for $300 million and will relocate the franchise to Houston next year.
The WNBA and Comets did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trademark Dispute
The Comets logo trademark filings come despite an ongoing trademark dispute for the team’s name.
The Houston Comets’ trademark expired before the team returned to the league, and a mysterious Delaware-based company TSTM Holdings submitted an application for the name in May 2024. The WNBA applied for the Houston Comets trademark again in February 2025.
The WNBA franchise is still allowed to use the Houston Comets name because the USPTO has not granted rightful ownership of the trademark to either entity, according to Gerben. He said that any risk for the WNBA team is on the “low end,” and that he isn’t worried they’ll ever need to change their name.
“It’s probably a little bit more of a financial risk than a risk they’re not going to be able to use the name,” Gerben said. “They may have to come up with some numbers to buy out the rights that this other side might have gotten, but they also have a strong enough legal case that it may not be worth it for this other entity to pursue any legal action … A lot of times that doesn’t make sense if there’s a reasonable settlement offer on the table.”
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