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Giannis Antetokounmpo is suing Leaf Trading Cards for trademark infringement, trademark dilution, violation of his rights of publicity, and much more. He claims in his complaint that Leaf has used the GREEK FREAK mark along with his name, image, and likeness without consent.
The parties actually once were bound by a contract, as tends to be true in many of these types of cases. However, that agreement, dated May 23, 2013, was only for a term of one year, and according to Antetokounmpo, it was never renewed. Thus, Leaf’s continued use of his name, image, and likeness constituted misappropriation, and, further, Leaf never had the consent to use Antetokounmpo’s trademarks, which he has registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
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The 2013 agreement granted Leaf the nonexclusive license to use Antetokounmpo’s name, nickname, likeness, photograph, biography, and signature for the term of one year on and in connection with the manufacture, production, distribution, and sale of trading cards not licensed to the NBA. Antetokounmpo also granted Leaf a nonexclusive license to feature his autograph on those trading cards. Antetokounmpo was to be compensated $8,000 in exchange for 1,000 autographs and an additional $8,000 if Leaf chose to acquire an additional 1,000 signatures from the now NBA superstar.
In August 2021, Antetokounmpo’s legal counsel wrote to Leaf, demanding that it cease its infringing activities and provide a full accounting of all merchandise sold that included Antetokounmpo’s registered trademarks and rights of publicity. While the parties, through counsel, engaged in some back-and-forth, they were unable to resolve the matter, which led to the initiation of the lawsuit.
The case is sitting in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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Darren Heitner is the founder of Heitner Legal. He is the author of How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, published by the American Bar Association, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @DarrenHeitner.