A non-profit association has sued LeBron James for copyright infringement
The slogan ''More Than An Athlete'' may not be owned by UNINTERRUPTED
Sports
February 21st, 2020
February 21st, 2020
Game Plan Inc., a Maryland non-profit youth organization, has sued LeBron James' media and film production company, UNINTERRUPTED, for the use and rights of the slogan ''More Than An Athlete'', asking $ 33 million in compensation. Not only that, ESPN and 2K Sports will also be sued for having misused the quote, considered, precisely owned by UNINTERRUPTED.
According to Game Plan, the Nike athlete would have seen some members of the organization itself wear a t-shirt with the aforementioned slogan, apparently invented in 2016, during a challenge between Cavs and Wizards in 2017, and from there he would have decided to use it with his company. To witness the incident, the non-profit company published a group photo at the end of the game where some guys, together with John Wall, wear the shirt with the now famous claim.
Always Game Plan, certifies that the right to use this phrase, together with the organization logo, was legally recognized on 5 June 2018 and that therefore LeBron & Co. could not have used it for any reason.
Remember that Lebron, before marking each item of his merchandising with this phrase, also used as a naming for the 2018 European tour by Nike, used ''More than an Athlete'' to respond to the attacks of Fox News journalist Laura Ingraham , who had invited James to ''shut up and dribble'' following his provocative words against US President Donald Trump.
"Participation in the game gave extraordinary visibility to the motto and Game Plan, so as to attract the attention of John Wall and probably the most famous athlete in the world, LeBron James," says the spokesman for the non-profit organization. In response, UNINTERRUPTED stated that ''the complaint filed today by Game Plan is without merit and contains numerous factual inaccuracies. Uninterrupted holds the previous rights relating to the More Than An Athlete brand'', concluding by saying that "the claim for compensation has no reason to exist, and contains several inaccuracies. Uninterrupted holds exclusive rights to the slogan ''More Than An Athlete''.
