Amazon Files Applications to Register AMAZON SPHERES, and Sphere Design, as Trademarks

A few days after Amazon announced it was acquiring Whole Foods, it filed two federal trademark applications for something completely unrelated - the AMAZON SPHERES.

What are the Amazon Spheres? Apparently they're giant glass spheres the mega-company is building in downtown Seattle that will house waterfalls, rivers, and tropical gardens. The structures won't be finished until early 2018.

On June 21st, however, Amazon Technologies, Inc. filed two federal trademark applications related to the spheres - one for the words AMAZON SPHERES (which I first thought would be another consumer good) and one for the design seen above (which is described in the application as only a "sphere design").

Amazon filed both applications on an intent to use basis, suggesting it is not using the marks in commerce yet but it has a bona fide intention to do so in the near future (which makes sense given the opening date). TMEP 806.01(b); 15 U.S.C. 1051(b). The goods covered by each application are the same and include the following:

• Paper goods and printed matter (Class 16);
• Clothing, headgear, footwear (Class 25);
• Toys and sporting goods (Class 28); and
• Advertising and business services, retail store and online retail store services (Class 35).

According to my quick search, these two trademark applications bring Amazon's total to 33 applications filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office so far in 2017. These appear to be the first applications related to the "Amazon Sphere," although I suspect there will be more to follow.