NCAA athletes seek ownership and trademarks names
Sports
NCAA athletes seek ownership and trademarks names
Like their counterparts in the pros, more college football stars are starting to snatch up trademark rights to their names, nicknames and fan slogans. The NCAA generally forbids its players from cashing in on their athletic success, but by gaining legal ownership of phrases tied to their personal brands, players can pave the way for lucrative licensing deals in the future and can prevent others from exploiting their names. This month, Ohio State University running back Ezekiel Elliott applied for trademarks to use his nicknames “Zeke” and “Eze” on merchandise, according to records in a public database kept by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
They’re becoming these public personas at these universities, and why not capitalize on that?
Matthew Swyers, CEO of the Trademark Company
In professional sports, athletes routinely snag trademarks for their nicknames and taglines, and then companies pay hefty sums to use their monikers on merchandise. Landing those rights can also be a defensive maneuver against so-called trademark poachers. Although experts said the practice is growing, it’s mostly limited to a small group of big-name athletes. Officials at the universities of Florida, Oregon and California said they hadn’t heard of any students interested in pursuing trademarks.
People will jump in as quickly as they can to file for marks that are coined by athletes.
Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston, both Heisman Trophy winners
