LeBron James is “More Than an Athlete”
by Michael C. Antone, Counsel at Nemphos Braue and U.S. Resistered Patent Attorney
LeBron James is more than an athlete. He is also a businessman as evidenced by his win in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Game Plan, Inc. v. Uninterrupted IP, LLC, No. 24-1407 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 10, 2025) in a dispute over trademark rights in the trademark phrases MORE THAN AN ATHLETE and I AM MORE THAN AN ATHLETE.
Initially, LeBron’s Uninterrupted IP, LLC (“Uninterrupted”) found themselves on the wrong side of a trademark dispute with the non-profit Game Plan, Inc. (“Game Plan”) over the MORE THAN AN ATHLETE trademarks as the junior party with inferior rights. In 2018, Uninterrupted filed six intent-to-use (ITU) applications, four for the mark I AM MORE THAN AN ATHLETE and two more for MORE THAN AN ATHLETE covering clothing and entertainment services (U.S. Trademark Application Serial Nos. 87/828,960; 87/828,964; 87/828,965; 87/828,966; 87/836,363; 87/836,358), (the “UIP Applications”).
However, Game Plan had already filed a US TM application on December 28, 2016 for I AM MORE THAN AN ATHLETE GP GAME PLAN for “Charitable fundraising services by means of selling t-shirts to raise funds for educational and entertainment programs”, which was registered as U.S. Reg. No. 5,487,497 (the “GP Registration”).
Since Uninterrupted and Game Plan’s marks all include the phrase “More Than An Athlete”, which might cause confusion to consumers, Game Plan decided to file an opposition (Opposition No. 91244990) to stop the registration of the marks by Uninterrupted on November 28, 2018 based on the earlier filing date of the GP Registration and earlier date of first use of their mark relative to the UIP Applications, thereby giving Game Plan superior rights to the mark.
Uninterrupted, responded in turn, by acquiring, from a company named More Than an Athlete, Inc. (MTAA), US TM Reg. No. 4343953 for MORE THAN AN ATHLETE for “Publicity and sales promotion services” (“MTAA Registration”), together with the goodwill of the business symbolized by the MTAA trademark. The application for the MTAA Registration was filed April 27, 2012 with a date of first use of September 5, 2012, predating both the GP Registration and UIP Applications filing and use dates by several years.
With the acquisition of the MTAA Registration, Uninterrupted stepped into MTAA’s shoes as owner of the mark, instantly giving it superior rights relative to Game Plan for the MORE THAN AN ATHLETE mark based on MTAA’s filing and usage dates. Uninterrupted then filed a counterclaim in the Game Plan’s opposition to cancel the GP Registration in view of the MTAA Registration.
The superior rights of the MTAA Registration enabled Uninterrupted to cancel the GP Registration and pull out a win, solidifying its ownership rights in the I AM MORE THAN AN ATHLETE and MORE THAN AN ATHLETE trademarks. Now, Game Plan may have to stop using its mark, unless it receives permission from Uninterrupted.
Interestingly, had Game Plan acquired the MTAA Registration, then it might have prevailed against Uninterrupted.
For the owners and executives of companies, this case highlights the importance of conducting a reasonable inquiry before adopting a brand and due diligence before asserting your rights in a brand, in particular when the opposing party has far superior financial resources.
Your business is certainly more than just your trademarks, but the experience even from LeBron James’ company underscores the importance of intellectual property. Consult with us to learn more.
End note: Interestingly, the USPTO issued registrations to both MTAA and Game Plan for similar marks and also did not cite the MTAA Registration in the examination of the GP Registration or MTAA and GP Registrations during the examination of the UIP Applications. One possible reason is that the applications were for registration in different classes. This oddity further stresses the importance of performing your own due diligence before investing in a brand.
