A trademark refusal tied to insulated boots may have slowed Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams’ plans, but the debate around the nickname still points back to the Spurs legend who made it famous.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office issued an initial refusal this week on Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams’ attempt to trademark the nickname Iceman. The reason had nothing to do with basketball.
The USPTO cited a likelihood of confusion with a trademark filed in 1988 by LaCrosse Footwear for a line of insulated boots, writing that the marks are identical in appearance, sound and meaning.
But the real story around this ruling has always been the name itself, because long before Williams ever wore a Bears uniform, Iceman belonged to George Gervin.
Gervin earned the nickname in the 1970s for the icy calm with which he operated on the basketball court, eventually becoming one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history across nine seasons with the San Antonio Spurs. He won four scoring titles, made 12 All-Star teams and is a Hall of Famer whose No. 44 hangs in the rafters in San Antonio.
Gervin never formally trademarked the name during his playing career, telling the Chicago Sun-Times this past March that he believed it was already protected.
“That name is taken,” Gervin said.
According to multiple reports, he has since filed his own applications for Iceman and Iceman 44, which remain under USPTO review and could face the same LaCrosse Footwear roadblock that just tripped up Williams.
Williams has explained that his filing was a defensive business move intended to stop unlicensed sellers from profiting off merchandise using his name. He picked up the nickname from teammates last season for his demeanor under pressure and has grown to embrace it. He still has an Iceman logo application pending separately and can appeal the refusal on the word itself, with three months to respond before the USPTO considers the case abandoned.
None of the legal back-and-forth changes what matters most to anyone who grew up watching basketball in South Texas. Drake’s most recent album is titled “Iceman.” Chuck Liddell built a UFC Hall of Fame career under the name. Now an NFL quarterback in Chicago is fighting a boot company for the rights to it.
None of that competition matters in San Antonio.
There has only ever been one Iceman and he wore silver and black, shot a finger roll nobody could replicate and gave the city of San Antonio one of the most enduring nicknames in sports history decades before anyone else tried to claim it.
