COLOGNE, Germany — On the same day Luka Doncic powered Slovenia to a big EuroBasket win over Germany, he continued to fight for trademark control of his name and brand.
Doncic on Tuesday filed a petition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in an effort to cancel the registration of a trademark — “LUKA DONCIC 7″ — that his mother, Mirjam Poterbin, currently owns, according to documents provided by his law firm, Brown Rudnick.
NBA insider Marc Stein first reported the news.
According to USPTO public records, Doncic, then 19 years old, gave consent to Poterbin to register “LUKA DONCIC 7″ in November 2018, and the trademark was officially registered in January 2020.
Doncic used that logo — his name with the “L” as an upside down 7 and another 7 underneath the “D” to incorporate his jersey number — early in his NBA career. Poterbin, at the time, provided “assistance and guidance for his off-court business opportunities,” according to the petition.
In July 2021, the petition states Doncic provided written notice to his mom that he no longer consented to the use and registration of the trademark because he wanted to consolidate his brand without her involvement.
In September 2021 — about a month after signing his historic $207 million rookie supermax contract extension with the Mavericks — Doncic debuted a new emblem.
That one — “77″ configured to look like “LD” with an outline of “S” for Slovenia — has appeared on all of his Jordan Brand shoes and clothing and on charitable and business endeavors he’s since pursued.
Doncic’s company, Luka99 Inc., has twice applied for trademark registration to “LUKA DONCIC”: in June 2021 for all material items and goods and in April 2022 for charity fundraising services.
The USPTO has not approved the applications because of the existing “LUKA DONCIC 7″ trademark that Poterbin hasn’t relinquished after multiple attempts at private negotiations and more than a year after Doncic’s first formal request.
Doncic has shown no signs of distraction by the first public legal dispute of his NBA career while in the international spotlight at the prestigious EuroBasket tournament.
The 23-year-old compiled his best performance of the summer Tuesday with 36 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes to help the Slovenian national team down previously undefeated host Germany.
In the final group stage game Wednesday, Slovenia earned the uber-competitive Group B’s No. 1 seed in the ensuing knockout rounds with an 88-82 victory over France, which won their Olympic semifinal clash last summer with a buzzer-beating block. Doncic topped his Tuesday performance with a national team-EuroBasket record 47 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the win over France.
