Lebron James Merchandise

[dirtydade305]

Not sure if this is the right place for this, but it seemed like a good fit...


Anyway, if I wanted to make Lebron James merchandise (t-shirts, mainly) and sell it via a website, are there any legal matters I need to consider first, such as approval from anyone, getting paperwork done etc?

The merchandise would most likely have words on it from an original slogan and then a picture of Lebron James (either from internet or taken myself?)

I appreciate any help anyone has to offer on this, thanks in advance!

 

[Zigner]

You would need to get approval for any and all copyright holders, as well as from Mr. James himself.

Others will be along to elaborate

 

[dirtydade305]

hahah ok I'll wait for them to elaborate then, thanks for your help though!

 

[racer72]

You would have to purchase a licensing agreement through Mr. James agent. You will find out a couple of things. First, the price tag of these agreement likely start in the high 6 or 7 figure amounts. Also, he most likely already has sold licensing agreements for t-shirts and other apparel and these agreements provide market exclusivity rights. That means Nike paid the big bucks to sell LeBron James t-shirts and no one else can. Nike pays very good attorneys a lot of money to protect these agreements.

 

[dirtydade305]

Ok I guess that would make sense that I would have to go through all of that, it is Lebron James..


So would my best bet be to go through Nike and try and strike some sort of deal with them to buy my idea? Assuming it is worthwhile of course, which I think it is..

Thanks again for any help

 

[dirtydade305]

I just saw on Nike's website that you can't propose ideas to them because they might have been working on the same idea at the time and you just didnt know about (or they can claim they were), and this would raise arguments over who owns the idea (if that makes sense).

Therefore, I don't think I would be able to get in touch with Lebron James's agent, so how else would I run this idea through them?

Thanks for any help.

 

[DStaub]

Why would a Nike policy prevent you from contacting Lebron James agent? can you explain what you mean?