It is not often we hear about a star athlete embroiled in a legal dispute with his own mom, but that’s the case with Luka Doncic and his mother, Mirjam Poterbin.
Doncic confirmed to longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein that he filed a petition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office regarding cancelling the “LUKA DONCIC 7” trademark, which is controlled by his mother and which she has refused to give up.
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“I have a lot to look forward to as I continue to grow as a player and a person and it’s important to me to control my own brand and focus on giving back to my communities,” Doncic told Stein, who publishes The Stein Line on Substack, in a statement.
Doncic gave his mother permission to register his name as a trademark during his rookie year in 2018. According to Stein, the Mavericks star tried in writing last year to get his mother’s company to give up the trademark, but that did not happen.
Doncic unveiled a new logo last season on his Jordan Brand sneakers and apparel, that made use of his initials, LD, his number, 77, and the letter “S” — for his home country of Slovenia.
Nevertheless, he sought to trademark the name “Luka Doncic” and it was “preliminarily” rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Therefore, Stein reports that Doncic’s latest filing was a “last resort in a bid to gain full control over his name, brand, charitable foundation and business affairs, since conflicting trademarks prevent Doncic from holding clear rights to use his own name”.
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
