Even as his star continues to rise, newly-drafted National Basketball Association (NBA) sensation Jeremy Lin may risk falling prey to cyber-squatters.
Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported a Chinese domain name bearing Lin’s Chinese name – www.linshuhao.com – had been registered in China and is up “for sale.”
“This domain name is for sale ... Email：82745340#qq.com,” read a message on the website (www.linshuhao.com) as of Monday night, Manila time.
But the CNA report said attempts to contact the one who registered the domain name got an error message that there were “too many bidders right now.”
“Too many bidders right now. Please state your budget or we won’t reply,” it quoted the error message as saying.
An English translation of the site quoted Forbes as saying Jeremy Lin had become one of the fastest-growing brand names, “worth about $14 million (equivalent to about NT $ 4.1 billion).”
It also suggested the LinShuHao “brand value” has tied that of Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant.
Lin, now a point guard for the New York Knicks, has become an NBA sensation in past weeks, leading his team to several rousing victories.
He also endeared himself to fans with his humble attitude and hard work ethic.
The CNA report noted the war on Lin’s intellectual property (IP) rights is surrounding the sudden rise of the Taiwanese-American star.
It said Lin’s attorneys have reportedly applied for trademark rights to the term “Linsanity,” which covers the use of all things “Lin.”
The CNA report also quoted foreign wire service reports as saying Andrew Slayton, Lin’s former Palo Alto high school basketball coach, also reportedly bought the domain name Linsanity.com in 2010.
