Larry Bird’s go-to number isn’t 33 anymore

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On the court, former Boston Celtics star Larry Bird’s number was 33.

But in a federal courtroom in Indiana in recent months, the more significant number was 3,043,202 -- along with a handful of other U.S. trademark registration numbers that give Bird the right to plaster his name on everything from golf balls and bobbing head dolls to jerseys and electronic games.

Bird in May filed a civil lawsuit against a couple that, just over a year ago, purchased his former home in French Lick, Ind. According to the lawsuit, Georgianna Lincoln and Christopher Cook also tried unsuccessfully to buy some Bird memorabilia.

Bird’s lawsuit alleges that the couple then unveiled plans to market the property as a bed-and-breakfast, using the ‘Legend of French Lick’ sobriquet sometimes used to describe Bird. The lawsuit alleges that the Larry Joe Bird Revocable Trust never gave permission for that marketing gambit.

The lawsuit ended in September with a settlement -- the terms of which were sealed by the court. But the agreement apparently allowed the couple to continue describing the bed-and-breakfast as Bird’s former home.

Their website mentions the former owner and has a picture of the outdoor court where Bird played ball. The house has three NBA-sized master bedrooms, tennis courts and a swimming pool.

Bird, meanwhile, continues to use his name to sell products through his website, where you can buy autographed basketballs ($469.99), autographed photographs ($169.99) and even a copy of a photo shot during the 1979 NCAA Championship game that is autographed by Bird and Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson.

-- Greg Johnson