Editors’ note, Feb. 21, 12:35 p.m. ET: The headline on this article has been revised to refer to a trademark rather than a copyright.
The NIL era of college sports is still young—three years old this July, to be precise—but LSU forward Angel Reese already has proven to be one of its biggest beneficiaries.
After transferring from Maryland to play for the Tigers before the 2022-23 season, Reese’s celebrity exploded when she led LSU to the national championship. A double-double in the title game against Iowa in front of a record television audience raised her stock, and lucrative NIL deals with Reebok and other companies followed.
However, Reese’s unstoppable NIL train seems to have hit a temporary snag in the form of trademark law.
Reese and her representatives will not appeal a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decision to deny the star a trademark of her “Bayou Barbie” nickname, attorney Darren Heitner told On3 Wednesday morning.
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“We discussed internally and determined that it was in Angel’s best interest to not unnecessarily instigate Mattel,” Heitner told On3’s Pete Nakos. “While initially it seemed worthy to obtain the registration, Angel has pivoted away from selling Bayou Barbie merchandise. As such, the appropriate business decision was made to simply let the application abandon.”
Per Nakos, the USPTO denied Reese’s initial copyright claim in November due to potential confusion with the Mattel-owned Barbie toy.
Reese is averaging 19.2 points and 12.5 rebounds per game this season for a 22-4 Tigers team ranked No. 13 in the country.
