The Houston Comets spent all week teasing a release on social media of something related to the rebirth of the WNBA franchise, which occurred Thursday night when the team revealed its logos.
On Wednesday, eight trademark applications for logos appeared on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website that proved to be a preview of the franchise's new logos.
The applications, filed by WNBA Enterprises LLC, consisted of four logos, each with two separate applications: one for entertainment services and another for sports jerseys and clothing.
The four logos match those revealed by Houston on Thursday. One features a circular emblem with a stylized letter H. A basketball with a comet tail cuts through the letter, and "Houston Comets" is written around the border.
Another logo -- deemed the primary icon -- features the stylized H without the circular border.
The applications also included secondary logos. One shows "Houston" with four stars scattered amid the letters. A basketball with a comet tail goes through part of the T and O.
Another logo features "Comets" in the same font with the stylized basketball going through part of the C and the O.
Allow us to reintroduce ourselves. ☄️ https://t.co/DY1rB7Lrkn
— Houston Comets (@HoustonComets) October 30, 2026
https://t.co/ni3KnyF3S0
— Houston Comets (@HoustonComets) October 30, 2026
The logos, which were applied for without a specific color scheme but were revealed in blue and red on Thursday, were first reported by Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney with Gerben IP. Messages left with the Comets, the WNBA and the WNBA's trademark attorney about the logos were not immediately returned to ESPN.
"There was a way for the WNBA to have filed these trademarks where everybody would not have been able to find them before the announcement," Gerben said. "They could have literally filed them offshore."
Gerben said professional sports franchises have started to initially register trademark applications internationally, specifically in Mauritius and Jamaica, to try to prevent any leaks before logo or naming announcements.
It can be difficult for teams, he said, to balance the timing of applications while avoiding someone else trademarking a name or logo first. Gerben said if a franchise or league files internationally first, it then has a six-month window to file in the United States while holding the initial filing date in the foreign country.
It's unclear if the WNBA did that in this case.
The Comets logo has been a trademark question for the WNBA since it awarded the relocation of the Connecticut Sun to Houston. In 2024, a Delaware-based corporation called TSTM Holdings LLC applied for a trademark of "Houston Comets" for a variety of uses, including clothing, gym bags and other items. It is unknown who owns TSTM Holdings. On Thursday morning, however, TSTM Holdings abandoned its application, according to USPTO records.