Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to prevent Carnival Cruise Line and its chairman Micky Arison, from using the phrase “King James” as the name of one of their ships, according to patent attorney Josh Gerben.

While Arison–who is the principle owner of the Miami Heat –and Carnival have yet to publicly respond to the suit, they have 40 days to do indicate to the presiding court, if they intend to fight the charges according to Gerben.

Though the “King James” moniker was obviously not originated by LeBron, the Lakers' forward does retain a trademark license over the nickname, as it pertains to sports related items. With the cruise line planning on hosting “sports activities and events” according to their filing to use the name, it opened a legal avenue for James to contest the use of the moniker.

As Gerben explained in the video, legal contests over the violation of trademarks can regularly take in excess of over two years to be resolved, however they are often settled before a final verdict is delivered. While it is expected that the two sides will engage in settlement negotiations, an interesting factor will be the relationship between Arison and James, following the latter's decision to leave Miami during the summer 0f 2014.

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While his tenure in South Beach was generally positive, there was word of acrimony between LeBron and the organization as a result of his departure. While James has declined to elaborate on any details about what was said, he has hinted about the criticism some in the franchise leveled at him because of his choice to rejoin Cleveland.

James' comments following the Lakers' victory over the Heat in the Finals, about wanting his “respect”, was interpreted by some, as being directed at some in the Heat organization.