HOUSTON (AP) -Vince Young is suing three men for applying for a trademark to use his initials and “Invinceable” nickname to sell products without his permission.
The federal suit filed Dec. 12 in a U.S. District Court in Houston alleges the men applied for the rights in 2006, the day after Young led the University of Texas to a national championship in the Rose Bowl and won the most valuable player award.
The suit claims the trio has spent large sums marketing and branding the VY image and Invinceable nickname, damaging endorsement deals for the Tennessee Titans quarterback, including one with Reebok. Young is asking the court to give him the rights to use the initials and nickname.
The suit notes that Young, a 2005 Heisman Trophy finalist, became widely known by his Invinceable nickname while playing for Texas.
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None of the men, Rodney Vannerson and Tom Roberson, both of the Houston suburb of Sugar Land, and Enos Cabell of Missouri City, Texas, could be reached for comment Friday. Their attorney, Douglass Rommelman, did not immediately return a call to his office Friday.
The suit states that the men planned to use the Invinceable nickname for clothing, computer games, video games and computer game software. Young’s initials, VY, were intended for posters, photographs, pictures and decals.
The suit alleges Vannerson initially applied for the trademark with “the intention of extracting money for licensing the mark back to” Young.
The 2006 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year already sells some products with those marks on his Web site. He was also featured on the cover of the Madden 2008 video game.
Young’s attorney, Delphine James, did not return a phone call.
Drafted by the Titans in 2006, Young has been sidelined by injuries this year and now backs up Kerry Collins.
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