Entrepreneurs Try to Cash In On “Linsanity” Trademark

Los Angeles – People other than New York Knicks player Jeremy Lin are looking to profit from his fast-rising fame by attempting to trademark the word “Linsanity,” the term being used to describe the frenzy surrounding the Taiwanese point guard.

Los Angeles resident Yenchin Chang was the first of four people other than Lin to file trademark applications for “Linsanity” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Chang, who also is of Taiwanese decent, is in no way affiliated with the twenty-three-year-old Lin, who has led the Knicks to a five-game winning streak after being let go by the Golden State Warriors.

“I wanted to be part of the excitement,” stated Chang, an entrepreneur in the import/export business. He added, “I’m very proud of Jeremy.” The Harvard-educated Lin was not selected in the NBA draft but was picked up in a partially guaranteed contract deal with his hometown team, the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors subsequently released him. Lin is the first American player in the NBA to be of Taiwanese decent.

According to the USPTO website, Mr. Chang filed for the trademark on February 7th. The “Linsanity” application was filed for use in relation to apparel. Another trademark filing was made two days later by Andrew W. Slayton of Los Altos, CA. Slayton, who used to coach Lin in high school, registered the domain names Linsanity.com and thejeremylinshow.com with both sites selling Lin-related merchandise.

Lin’s New York Knicks’ jersey has been the most popular online seller since February 4, when he scored twenty-five points and had seven assists in a game against the New Jersey Nets. Since then, Knicks hats and jerseys have become some of the most sought-after merchandise, more than any other NBA team currently.

Jeremy Lin is probably more concerned with maintaining his playing streak right now. However, to his credit he did file his own Linsanity trademark application on February 13th, just a day before two other would be entreprenuers. The trademark office will likely approve Chang’s first filed application. It will then be up to Lin to contest the filing by alleging a likelihood of confusion and a bad-faith attempt to profit off of his popular name. The two applications filed after Lin’s will also receive refusals and will most likely abandon.