Hinting Rift With Mother Over Legal Dispute, $215M Star Luka Doncic Files Petition to Secure More Control Over His Own Name

Luka Doncic has become one of the headliners in the NBA since his draft in 2018. The Slovenian made his senior league debut when he was just 16. He even led Real Madrid, his former club in Europe, to the championship when he was just 18. In fact, the 2019 NBA Rookie of the Year was already a EuroLeague MVP entering the league.

His NBA playoff numbers are absolutely crazy- 33.5 points, 9.5 assists and 8.8 rebounds per game in the 13 games that he has played. Luka, surely, is one of the biggest names in the NBA right now. However, his own name is not reportedly under contention now. As it turns out, his mother, Mirjam Poterbin, owns the trademark for his name.

Luka Doncic tries to gain control over his name

As per latest reports, Luka Doncic recently filed a petition against his mother, Mirjam Poterbin, to gain control over his name and the trademark. Doncic felt that this was his last resort to pursue full control over his name and other associated affiliations. Doncic and his legal representatives had been trying to negotiate a transfer of control from his mother back to him.

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However, the negotiations weren’t fruitful, and Doncic had to step in to meet the Tuesday deadline to file a petition. “LUKA DONCIC 7 ” was the name under which it was trademarked. Doncic had initially provided consent to his mother on the trademark. However, he later on revoked it. With a rapidly growing career, the three-time All-Star has deemed it necessary to take into consideration the business side of his brand.

“I have a lot to look forward to as I continue to grow as a player and a person and it?s important to me to control my own brand and focus on giving back to my communities,” Doncic revealed in a statement.

The petition that was filed said that Doncic is not associated with LUKA DONCIC7 and does not approve of it. The difference between the two trademarks was preventing him from having complete control over his name. Thus, he had to take this action.

How did the control go to Poterbin?

Luka Doncic had his name trademarked in his rookie season itself in order to avoid its usage by others. In order to complete the process, Luka asked his mom to make the trademark and gave full consent to her in 2018-19. Coming to the present, around September 2021, Luka introduced his new logo for all the clothing and shoes via Instagram.

However, when he went to register and gain control over his name LUKA DONCIC as the trademark, USPTO refused it because of the already registered trademark ‘LUKA DONCIC 7’. As a result, Doncic proceeded to file a petition to cancel the prior trademark owned by his mother.

WATCH THIS STORY: How Luka rose to stardom as soon as he entered the NBA.

What is your opinion on Luka’s trademark situation? Comment below.