Luka Doncic files petition for trademark control in legal conflict with mom
While playing abroad in the EuroBasket championships and leading Slovenia to a win over hosts Germany, Dončić faced a Tuesday deadline with the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to file the petition. It is the latest step in the All-Star’s months-long quest to regain full control of trademarks that bear his name — several of which are in the hands of his mother Mirjam Poterbin.
In November of his rookie season with the Mavericks in 2018-19, at age 19, Dončić gave Poterbin consent for the registration of his full name as a trademark. After numerous attempts to negotiate a transfer of control for that registration, according to his lawyers, Dončić provided written notice in July 2021 that he wished to revoke that consent. Dončić’s operating company Luka99 Inc., with whom all his brand partnerships hold agreements, functioned as the formal petitioner in Tuesday’s filing.
Shortly before the start of the 2021-22 season, Dončić unveiled a new logo to appear on all of his Jordan Brand shoes and clothing and which incorporates his initials (LD), his uniform number (77) and an S representing his home country. The logo also features in the center circle of both courts that Dončić, in conjunction with the philanthropic arm of the NBA 2K video game franchise, refurbished in his hometown of Ljubljana, Slovenia, last September.
But his initial attempts to register “LUKA DONCIC” as a trademark under his control were preliminarily refused by the USPTO because of the existing “LUKA DONCIC 7” trademark, which Poterbin has refused to relinquish and makes use of Dončić’s previous logo.
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