The San Diego Chargers have filed for the Los Angeles Chargers and LA Chargers trademarks.
The filings, first reported by The Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, were submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last Thursday, two days after the Rams received permission to move to Los Angeles from St. Louis. The Chargers were given the first right to negotiate to move into the Rams stadium in Inglewood, California, that will be ready for the 2019 season.
The filings seek to own rights to the phrases on everything from football helmets to jewelry, toys to Christmas ornaments.
A year ago, two California residents filed to trademark "Los Angeles Chargers" associated with cell phone chargers. In October, another California resident filed to trademark an LA Chargers.
Officials with the Chargers and Rams met on Monday in their first negotiations. In a joint news release, the two sides said they would not comment throughout the process.
The Chargers, who were given $100 million by the NFL towards working on a stadium solution in San Diego, have until January 2017 to work out a deal with the Rams. If the Chargers choose not to consummate a deal, the option to share the venue would then default to the Raiders, which were also given $100 million to work out a solution in Oakland.