The Charlotte Hornets standout filed three trademarks on Feb 15 to take his place in Web 3.
LaMelo Ball is having a big week. The Charlotte Hornets point guard made waves in Cleveland, making his first All-Star appearance as a member of Team Durant. He also became the first Puma athlete since Isiah Thomas in 1990 to secure a spot on the All-Star roster.
As noted by attorney Josh Gerben of Gerben Intellectual Property, MB1 Enterprises, LLC filed three trademark applications on Feb. 15, with the US Patent and Trademark Office for “LAMELO BALL,” “1 OF 1,” and “M.E.L.O.” The trademarks cover a wide range of virtual and physical goods and services that will allow Ball to make his presence known in the metaverse. These goods include everything from art to apparel, trading cards to NFTs, and beyond.
The move is only the most recent in off-court efforts for the 2020-21 Rookie of the Year, who also announced the launch of his gaming and esports brand MB1 late last month.
Subscribe for the biggest stories in the business of sports and entertainment, daily.
The LaMelo Marks
Description:
The mark consists of standard characters, without claim to any particular font style, size, or color.
Description:
The mark consists of the letters MELO, in all caps, with periods after each letter.
Description:
The mark functions as a signature logo, which features two oversized numeric ones sandwiching the term “OF,” in all capital letters.
What’s it For?
The filings cover three major categories of asset classes and appear to set the star point guard to expand his presence in gaming and Web3, while also paving the way for an extensive collection of apparel featuring his new logo.
Specific items covered by the three filings include:
- “Virtual and digital interactive representations of LaMelo Ball for use in virtual experiences, augmented reality experiences, and the metaverse”
- “Virtual and digital goods (namely: art, avatars, emotes, beverages, collectible coins, clothing, headwear, footwear, eyewear, headphones, jewelry, watches, books, comics, bags, games, home goods, phones, photographs, posters, sports equipment, sporting goods, toys, trading cards)… for use online and in virtual worlds”
- “Downloadable software for esport games“
- “Multimedia files, audio recordings, video recordings, and image files containing content, artwork, text, audio, and video relating to LaMelo Ball, in each case, stored in digital wallets and authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)”
- “Downloadable digital assets and electronic data files provided with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other crypto collectibles and blockchain-based non-fungible assets”
- “Downloadable computer software for allowing users inside the metaverse, augmented reality, and virtual worlds, and video games to communicate with each other, play games, take photographs, teach and learn basketball, engage in other virtual experiences and augmented reality experiences and utilize virtual goods and items”
- “Entertainment services in the nature of esports and video game contests, providing on-line and live video games, on-line and live video game tournaments, on-line and live video gaming exhibitions, on-line and live video game competitions, and video gaming events”
- “Providing an online community forum for users to share and stream information, audio, video, real-time news, entertainment content, or information, to form virtual communities, and to engage in social networking”
- “Virtual basketball courts, gyms, parks and recreational facilities for playing sports, sports training in the metaverse, augmented reality, and virtual worlds”
Known for his adventurous style, it is not surprising that the filings also cover a wide range of clothing and apparel. The1 OF 1 logo covers a whole swath of items from t-shirts and hoodies to swimwear and socks.
With his first All-Star Game in the rearview, Ball is looking toward the future — both in this world and virtually.
Subscribe for the biggest stories in the business of sports and entertainment, daily.
