Kobe Bryant's Estate Fighting Software Company Over The Use Of 'Mamba' Name
By Ryan Naumann on February 28, 2020 at 7:36 AM EST
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Kobe Bryant’s estate is gearing up for a battle with a company over the right to use the name Mamba.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, a New York-based computer software company Articulate Global, Inc filed to oppose multiple trademark applications filed by Kobe.
In the months before his death, Kobe’s company, Kobe, Inc., filed documents to obtain the trademarks for multiple words. Back in October, he filed to trademark “M Rise” and “Rise” and “Mamba Rise” for a “mobile applications for providing cognitive sports training tasks and techniques to youth, amateur and elite athletes in the field of sports performance enhancement.”
The Blast
In December, he filed an application for the word “Mambacita” to use for an athletic clothing line. None of the applications had been granted by the time of Kobe’s death.
On January 20, 2020, Articulate Global filed documents notifying Kobe, Inc. they are opposing it’s attempts to trademark “Mamba Rise”, “M Rise” and “Rise” for the mobile application.
Back in 2012, Articulate Global filed to trademark the name “Rise” for use for a technology website. They were granted the trademark in 2013. In December 2019, they refiled to obtain the trademark “Rise” for the same purposes. The application has yet to be granted.
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They have yet to file a brief but are asking for 30 days to present their argument on why Kobe’s company should be shut down.
Prior to his death, Kobe was involved in a separate trademark battle with a pharmaceutical company named Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals.
Bryant had been fighting Hi-Tech’s attempts to trademark “Black Mamba HYPERRUSH.” He accused them of trying to rip off his nickname “Black Mamba.”
The NBA legend and the pharma company had been fighting since 2017 after Bryant demanded their trademarks not be approved, fearing it would cause confusion with consumers. He argued most people connect “Black Mama” with him. He had suffered setbacks in the battle and was working out a settlement with Hi-Tech in January.
Kobe & his daughter GiGi's public memorial was held earlier this week. Kobe's wife, Vanessa Bryant, recently filed a lawsuit against the pilot of the helicopter crash that killed the NBA legend.
