CBS News/ February 18, 2012, 2:19 AM

Jeremy Lin applies to trademark "Linsanity"

Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks looks on against the Sacramento Kings at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 15, 2012 in New York City.

Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks looks on against the Sacramento Kings at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 15, 2012 in New York City. / Getty Images/Chris Trotman

Now that New York Knicks player Jeremy Lin is a star, he is going to preserve a now-popular name in a legal and marketing sense.

The Huffington Post reported Friday that Lin applied to trademark "Linsanity" earlier this week and coughed up a $1,625 filing fee to use the name on apparel.

The move was confirmed by a Lin representative. "We're prepared to protect his intellectual property rights," said Pam Deese of the law firm Arent Fox.

Lin's application filing for the trademark comes in the wake of two men from California who also applied to trademark "Linsanity," according to Bloomberg News. One of them,Yenchin Chang, who works in the import/export business, said in an interview: "I wanted to be a part of the excitement. I'm very proud of Jeremy."

Another person, Andrew Slayton, made a filing to trademark "Linsanity" as well. According to The Huffington Post, Slayton reportedly purchased the domain name www.linsanity.com. Slayton's Web site sells T-shirts that say "LINsanity" and "Just LIN Baby." Another T-shirt has the No. 17, which is Lin's jersey number.

42 Photos

Jeremy Lin: NBA sensation

Slayton, however, could run into a problem with regards to California's "right to publicity" law, which safeguards celebrities' names from commercial use without their permission.

One person from a sports consulting firm has this advice for Lin: "Jeremy Lin needs to be careful and hire the right advisors and lawyers to protect his name," Sportscorp Ltd.'s president Marc Ganis told Reuters. "There are people all over the planet who are looking to financially capitalize on the Jeremy Lin phenomenon."

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16 Comments Add a Comment
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quickerdraw says:
Ha, The chinese are going to rip off anything they can and could care less about those pesky intellectual property rights.
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ReckonedTruth says:
Much success to Jermey Lin.. he's a GREAT sports talent thus far..

Mr. Lin ride the wave for as long as you can-enjoy the ride.. stay grounded by whatever means you do!.. Get paid!
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silveradocool says:
Maybe Vince Carter should say something - he was the original Vinsanity - so much for originality from this guy. Trademarking a nick name and you make $650,000 a year? this media driven country of ours is outta control - give me a break.
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newstrace says:
Oh please, let's make it so that every time a sportscaster utters yet another stupid Lin-pun, they have to cut Jeremy Lin a check. Maybe that'll finally get them to stop.
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GFORCE1205 says:
Check out Ex-Wall Streeter Ross Mandell's Blog about Linsanity!

http://rosshmandell.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/linsanity-tebowmania/
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kmskch says:
Wonderful!
Have a good day~
http://youtu.be/KRKnYjEPR2k
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ShortForm says:
The best Linsanity moments in one continuous video channel!
http://www.shortform.com/ghaffari/linsanity/watch
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frenius66 says:
Linoleum overrated
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stuwerb says:
Very lintelligent thing to do on his part. He's definitely got a good lintuition.
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Virilene says:
Dibs on LiNBA!
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See all 16 Comments

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