O'Neal's company, Mine O'Mine Inc., has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas against Arizona company True Fan Logo Inc., Michael Calmese of Phoenix and Utah resident Dan Mortensen, the Las Vegas Sun reported Tuesday.
The newspaper said Las Vegas attorneys for Mine O'Mine note in 2008 after O'Neal was traded by the Miami Heat to the Phoenix Suns, he was known as known as "The Big Cactus" and "The Big Shaqtus," with television commercials aired featuring O'Neal and a cactus bearing his face.
The suit reportedly alleges during that time, Mortensen registered the Web site domain name shaqtus.com, while Calmese, in the name of True Fan Logo, registered the name shaqtus.net. Both sites, the attorneys say, link to the Shaqtus Orange Web site, on which consumers are offered "Shaqtus" clothes and merchandise.
"Neither O'Neal nor Mine O'Mine has granted a license to use the Shaq right of publicity or to use and own the Shaqtus mark or the shaqtus.com or shaqtus.net domain names," the Sun quotes the lawsuit as charging.
Copyright 2010 by United Press International.
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