Bronny James’ recent attempt for a trademark ended up as an airball.
The Los Angeles Lakers guard James had a trademark filing through Nike get rejected by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Michael Rothstein of ESPN reported on Tuesday. James was trying to get his “B9” logo for Nike trademarked, but the USPTO ruled that there was a “likelihood of confusion” with a trademark already granted to Back9 Golf Apparel, a company based in Austin, Texas.
Both James and Back9 filed their trademarks for clothing and apparel usages (with Back9 officially registering their trademark back in 2022). Meanwhile, here is a photo of James’ “B9” logo that Nike posted earlier this week.
LeBron IX Witness PER for Bronny inspired by his recovery and journey back to the court. pic.twitter.com/NyR1VzgwKA
— Nike Basketball (@nikebasketball) April 12, 2026
“The marks are similar in appearance, sound and commercial impression,” examining attorney P. Scott Craven reportedly wrote in his refusal letter to Nike. “In addition, the marks are essentially phonetic equivalents and, thus, sound similar.” You can read Rothstein’s full report on the situation here.
The 21-year-old James, who is the son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, has been with Nike since 2022 (first signing with them on an NIL deal before he began college at USC). Bronny ended up at the same company as his father LeBron, who has a longstanding multi-decade relationship with Nike.
But Bronny, who is averaging just 2.9 points and 1.2 assists per game this season for the Lakers, was recently roasted online over the looks of his Nike sneaker. Now Bronny is also getting stiff-armed in his attempt to trademark a personal logo through Nike.
