Competing Before the PTO: Four Things a Professional Athlete Should Consider When Seeking a Federal Trademark Registration

By Ryan S. Hilbert   Today’s athletes have become increasingly proactive and savvy about ways in which they can and should protect their trademarks. As an example, shortly after former University of North Carolina basketball star Harrison Barnes became the seventh pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, he stated that he had already given tremendous thought to what his “brand” would be and even had an artist friend design his logo. As it turns out, Barnes had even gone so far as to file a trade