Almost three decades ago, L.A. Gear embedded blinking LED lights in the soles of high-tops, which became must-have items on playgrounds across the county.
"You've got to own the light if you want to own the night," one of the company's television commercials said.
These days, L.A. Gear says it owns a lot more than the light. The company is challenging trademark applications for "L.A. Chargers" and "L.A. Rams" in addition to the Chargers' "Fight for L.A." slogan, claiming the use of "L.A." infringes on its name.
"Applicant's applied-for Fight for L.A. Mark so closely resembles Opposer's L.A. Marks that the use and registration thereof is likely to cause confusion, mistake, and deception as to the source or origin of Applicant's goods and will injure and damage Opposer and the goodwill and reputation symbolized by Opposer's L.A. Marks," one filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said.
The parent company, ACI International, didn't respond to a request for comment. The Chargers and Rams declined to comment.
Once endorsed by celebrities like Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jackson and Joe Montana, L.A. Gear stumbled when the sole came off one of the company's shoes worn by a Marquette basketball player during a nationally televised game in 1990. No amount of neon detailing on shoes, in-your-face names like Brats and Hot Shots, or hyped technology like the Power Feedback System in high-tops could undo the damage caused by the unfortunate episode.
After the light-up sole fad fizzled a few years later (not helped by one state banning some models of the shoes because they contained mercury), L.A. Gear fell on hard times and eventually declared bankruptcy in 1998.
L.A. Gear challenged the Lakers' use of "L.A." in 2014. The Clippers were next in 2016.
The language in both opposition filings was virtually identical, alleging they're "confusingly similar" to L.A. Gear and the company's trademarks "became famous in the minds of consumers long prior to the date of filing of Applicant's mark."
The Lakers and Clippers reached an "amicable resolution" with L.A. Gear in July, according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records, under which the teams removed "footwear, basketball shoes and basketball sneakers" from a list of possible products covered by the mark.
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(Times staff writer Gary Klein contributed to this report.)
