Jay-Z once said, “Nobody wins when the family feuds.” And there may be some dissension in the O’Neal camp.
Based on a Notice of Opposition from Authentic Brands Group (ABG), the company that represents Shaquille O’Neal’s likeness, wants to put an end to the pending trademark application filed by his son, Shaqir O’Neal.
But is this really beef between father and son? Of course not.
Based on information from attorney Josh Gerben, the root of the issues appears to be between the two teams that represent the separate O’Neal men.
Well, this is awkward.
The company that owns Shaq’s trademarks (Authentic Brands Group) has opposed his son’s trademark filing for “SHAQIR O’NEAL.”
How on earth did this happen? #Shaq#Trademarks
A thread 🧵
[1/8] pic.twitter.com/eAZyf5SRiU— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) July 19, 2022
What's Going On?
The NBA Legend and sports commentator’s son Shaqir, represented by Mine O Mine LLC, filed a trademark application for his name and likeness. However, ABG thinks the names and likeness are too similar, and consumers would be confused.
The Notice of Opposition concludes by claiming that the “purchasing public” will “erroneously assume” that goods and services offered under the “SHAQIR O’NEAL” trademark are connected to Authentic Brands Group.
[4/8] pic.twitter.com/pofCDDRKkN
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) July 19, 2022
Since ABG believes the names are “confusingly similar,” the organization has filed a Notice of Opposition for Shaqir to press pause on its trademark application.
According to research and tweeted information from Gerben, the official notice “concludes by claiming that the ‘purchasing public’ will ‘erroneously assume’ that goods and services offered under the ‘SHAQIR O’NEAL’ trademark are connected to Authentic Brands Group.”
The Future Is Unclear
Based on a previous report from ESPN, the former Los Angeles Lakers center sold the rights to his brand to the management group in 2015.
Along with the acquisition from ABG, Shaq is a prominent shareholder in the company. ABG also has licensing rights for the names of Muhammad Ali, Michael Jackson, and several other high-profile celebrities.
So how is this case likely to play out?
It should settle without any trial.
In fact, I am shocked it got this far. There is almost no excuse for two companies that Shaq is involved with to end up in a court case against each other.
[6/8]
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) July 19, 2022
There have been no statements made directly from either of the O’Neal men. However, based on the legal expertise of Josh Gerben, this will all likely be handled outside of the courtroom.
