Why Lakers' Bronny James' Nike Logo Trademark Application Was Denied

Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James recently received some disappointing news.

Per ESPN's Michael Rothstein, United States Patent and Trademark Office documents showed that Nike's trademark application for James' "B9" logo was denied due to a "likelihood of confusion" with an already-registered mark owned by Back9 Golf Apparel, a company based in Austin, Texas.

Nike submitted the application for James' "B9" logo in February. He's worn sneakers with the logo multiple times this season, and Nike posted images of the shoes with the logo on Sunday:

USPTO examining attorney P. Scott Craven deemed James' logo too similar to the one created by Back9 Golf, which had also been previously registered as a trademark for clothing and apparel usage in 2022.

"The marks are similar in appearance, sound and commercial impression," Craven wrote in his refusal letter to Nike. "In addition, the marks are essentially phonetic equivalents and, thus, sound similar."

Rothstein noted that Nike has three months to appeal the ruling and "explain why the company believes the marks are different enough to coexist." Trademark attorney Josh Gerben of Gerben IP told Rothstein that Nike is facing "an uphill battle" to get James' trademark approved.

"The refusal makes sense," Gerben said. "This is not out of left field. Technically, this is a sound refusal by the government. Nike has got its work cut out for them to work around it."

James already has three approved trademarks that he applied for in 2022 under a different company: "Bronny," "Bronald" and the signature of "B J Jr."