Although the NBA community is nearing Kobe Bryant’s second death anniversary, the legendary Los Angeles Lakers star’s legacy is set to live forever.
Even from the heavens, Kobe continues inspiring present and future generations of basketball players. Russell Westbrook recently revealed he thinks about wearing the same jersey as the five-time NBA champion on a daily basis.
Besides, Kobe’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, works behind the scenes to ensure the Lakers great’s legend lives on — even despite the end of the family’s long-term partnership with Nike. Recently, Vanessa reportedly filed to trademark “KB24” to further grow the Bryant empire.
Although it is yet unclear what the move entails, Catlan McCurdy, who is the founder and Principal Attorney at McCurdy, LLC, a boutique intellectual property and technology transactions law firm and contributor at Digital.com, says the mark could appear on products and services soon:
“The mark was filed for in connection with a variety of goods and services, including podcasts, trading cards, shot glasses, clothing, audio and visual broadcasting services, and youth programs. Intent-to-use applications can be filed by applicants with a good faith intent to use the trademark in connection with the applied-for goods and services within the next 3 years. So, by filing this application, we know that Kobe, Inc. is intending on using the KB24 mark on the goods and services it applied for some time in the near future, but we’ll have to wait to see how the company, and Vanessa Bryant, who signed the application as President of Kobe, Inc. specifically use the KB24 brand.
Intent-to-use applications are great tools for business owners who know what trademark they want to use but aren’t ready to launch their products or services yet. KB24 notably wasn’t applied for in connection with any shoes, jerseys, or other sporting goods.”
The trademark application was one of the many action items featuring on Vanessa’s agenda for this year. In May, she announced the launch of the Mambacita clothing line, commemorating the memory of daughter Gianna, who died with Kobe in a helicopter crash in 2020.
And in June, Vanessa reached a settlement agreement in a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that flew the helicopter following an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Carmelo Anthony thinks Lakers signing made Kobe ‘smile’
As Kobe left his mark on countless NBA players, his name naturally keeps being mentioned in various interviews across the NBA — and even more so at Staples Center.
When Carmelo Anthony moved to L.A. in the offseason, he said that he knew the late Lakers hero “was smiling” from heavens upon the 37-year-old forward’s decision to join the organization.
Carmelo and Kobe developed a close bond through the many years they competed against each other in the NBA.
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