Copyright, Lawsuit of the Day

'Durantula' Infringement Suit Against Kevin Durant May Have Legs

Kevin Durant is caught in a legal web over ownership of his 'Durantula' nickname...

By  
on

Today, we wake up in a world where LeBron James is king. The best player in basketball and the Miami Heat closed out Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Congratulations. Waking up to the reign of King James must be like living in Westeros in a world where Joffrey Baratheon is king. (That makes Dwyane Wade Cersei & Chris Bosh Lancel Lannister.)

Kevin Durant will be back. The supremely talented NBA scoring champion will get better from this, and I think he’ll win championships. On the basketball court.

In a court of law, Durant might not be as successful. Durant’s being sued for trademark infringement, and not by George Gervin. Many have compared Durant’s game to Gervin’s, but in terms of nicknames there is no contest. George Gervin was called the “Iceman,” because nicknames used to be cool and creative. Durant is often called simply “KD,” because younger sports fans don’t seem to know the difference between a nickname and an acronym.

Sometimes Durant is called “Durantula” because of his spindly length. That’s more of a word play than a nickname — and apparently it’s already taken. An 80s guitarist that you probably have never heard of claims that he trademarked the moniker “Durantula” years ago. Mark Durante is now suing Durant, his representatives, and Nike.

And the Durantula guitarist kind of has a point…

TMZ has the report on the lawsuit:

Sponsored

Durant was sued today in Federal Court by a guy named Mark Durante — a guitarist who, according to the lawsuit, was a big deal in the 80s … playing with Public Enemy, The Aliens, The Next Big Thing, and (our favorite) The Revolting Cocks.

That’s not the cool Public Enemy.

But this isn’t a crazy lawsuit. You can read the full complaint on PACER. Durante claims to have registered the mark years ago, and he says that on September 15th, 2010 he put Durant’s representatives on notice that Durantula was trademarked. He says he even received a response from Durant’s agent:

Despite these assurances, Durant’s people are now marketing Durantula merchandise:

Sponsored


That seems pretty infringing to me.

You know, I bet it wouldn’t have taken a lot to buy this guy off. I bet it still won’t take a lot to settle with this guy.

But maybe Durant’s marketing people can use this opportunity to come up with something a little more appealing than an arachnid for the league’s most marketable superstar.

The brother likes to wear a backpack — I’d call him the Trapper Keeper because he can do a little bit of everything.

Sued for Stealing ‘Durantula’ Nickname [TMZ]

Topics

, , , , ,