The following is an edited transcript of my video Pickleball: A Boom in Trademark Filings
If you haven’t played pickleball yet, you’ve certainly heard about it. Although it was invented a couple of decades ago, ever since the pandemic in 2020 its popularity has boomed. Some studies indicate that it’s the fastest-growing sport in the United States.
Pickleball is a booming sport, and we can track that in the records of the USPTO. In 2018, there were just 20 filings that referenced pickleball at the USPTO. In 2021, there were 80. In the span of 3 years, it grew fourfold. Continuing into the first 8 months of 2022, there were over 180.
The trademark records of the USPTO really are a microcosm of the overall economy, and you can use it to research many things, such as in this example to show the trends in pickleball. Businesses can use this research to look at trends are in their industries or among their competitors.
The takeaway is don’t underestimate the power of the data in the USPTO record. It can show important things for your business, for your brand, as well as fun and interesting things like the boom in pickleball.
