Colin Kaepernick has become a brand worth protecting.
At least he thinks so.
The San Francisco 49ers quarterback has filed for the trademark "Kaepernicking," his bicep-kissing act that has swept the West Coast during the team's postseason run.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website shows the registration was filed on Jan. 14, and Kaepernick intends to use it on clothing, specifically T-shirts.
Kaepernick's marketing team already has authorized a few small T-shirt companies to use his name and image on their products.
The official "Kaepernicking" shirt is made by a company called Sportiqe. Some proceeds from that shirt go to Camp Taylor, which organizes camps for children with congenital heart defects.
Kaepernick has been involved with the camp; his adoptive parents lost two children to heart complications.
The San Francisco Chronicle was first to report the "Kaepernicking" trademark. Kaepernick's marketing agent, Shawn Smith of X-A-M Sports, told ESPN.com that her team intends to file other trademarks on her client's behalf.
In the past 10 days, Kaepernick's jersey has been the best-selling NFL jersey on Fanatics.com, one of the nation's largest online sports retailers.
Kaepernick broke out in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs against Green Bay, rushing for a quarterback-record 181 yards with two touchdowns, and passing for another 263 yards and two more TDs.