Bryant

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO ENJOIN (AS MODIFIED) THE PROSECUTION OF LATER FILED ACTION IN NEW JERSEY; DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO TRANSFER

INTRODUCTION AND FACTS

Sometime before May 6, 1996, a high school basketball phenom from Pennsylvania declared himself eligible for the N.B.A. draft. This was in those ancient days when there were almost no “pros” who had not played at least one year of college ball. Sure, there had been the occasional Moses Malone or Bill Willoughby, but the O’Neals and Miles’s and McGradys of the world of hoops were still learning how to shave. Even the most acclaimed player that the Philadelphia area had ever spawned, the Overbrook High School grad who later chose nearby Hershey, Pennsylvania as the site to score 100 points in a single game, had played three seasons of college ball. Most fans, even ardent ones, could not tell a “Kobe” from a jellybean.

Fast forward a season or two and it had become clear that a “Kobe” was a valuable commodity, especially in an autograph. That is undoubtedly what Classic Marketing, Inc., and The Score Board bet on when they entered into a License Agreement with plaintiff, Kobe Bryant (“Bryant”), on May 6, 1996.…