Five celebrities who’ve tried to trademark their slogans
Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is not the only celebrity who has dipped her toes into the trademark world.
Last week, Swift applied to trademark the lyrics to her upcoming album “Reputation”.
The mark ‘ Look what you made me do’, which is also the title of a recently-released song by Swift, is being applied for in international classes 9 (music recordings), 16 (notebooks), 18 (bags), 25 (clothing), 26 (phone accessories), and 41 (entertainment services).
Today, we round up five famous faces who have attempted, and sometimes failed, to trademark their slogans, names, and even twins.
Beyoncé and her twins
Earlier this year, Beyoncé and her rapper husband Jay-Z applied to trademark the names of their recently born twins.
BKG Trademark, a company owned by Beyoncé, which also holds US registration number 86,883,293 for the name of their daughter, Blue Ivy, applied for US registration numbers 87,506,188 and 87,506,224 for ‘Sir Carter’ and ‘Rumi’ respectively.
Both were applied for in classes 1, 4, 6, 50, 51, and 52 for fragrances, cosmetics, key chains, baby teething rings, strollers, mugs, water bottles, hair ribbons, playing cards, tote bags, sports balls, rattles and novelty items.
The most recent applications are still awaiting assessment.
Donald Trump and the election
Our list would not be complete without reference to US President Donald Trump.
Never one to shy away from controversy, the US President successfully trademarked his ‘Make America Great Again’ election slogan in August 2016.
This has been used on several t-shirts, hats and other clothing items, and the mark also covers “online social networking services in the field of politics”, political campaign services and bumper stickers.
In March, he opposed a trademark application by Springs Global US for the term ‘Make America Great Again’.
The mark was abandoned after an inter partes review by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
He’s not been so lucky in every endeavour though—Trump also tried to trademark the slogan ‘You’re fired’, made popular through his TV series ‘The Apprentice’.
This was applied for in March 2004, for use on alcoholic beverages, toys and sporting goods and various home items.
The application, along with several other ‘You’re fired’ related trademarks including ‘You’re fired Donald Trump’, were all abandoned in 2005.
The devil’s in the detail: Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons, front man for the band Kiss, hit the headlines in June this year over the so-called devil horns hand gesture.
Simmons applied for, and later withdrew, a trademark application for the hand signal.
It was the first application to ever be made for a hand gesture, but Simmons soon backtracked.
The sign, described as consisting “of a hand gesture with the index and small fingers extended upward and the thumb extended perpendicular”, has been widely used in the rock music scene, but Simmons claimed he first made the sign in November 1974 while performing on stage.
The application, US serial number 87,482,739, was filed in international class 41—entertainment, namely, live performances by a musical artist, and personal appearances by a musical artist.
Simmons received a backlash from figures in the rock music industry, with several claiming the gesture is a universal symbol for rock and roll.
50 Cent v Taco Bell
It’s not often that you see a musician go up against a fast-food chain over their name, but it does happen.
US rapper 50 Cent, who has a large trademark portfolio covering his name, album cover and slogans, was infamously involved in a dispute with Taco Bell.
According to Billboard, 50 Cent sued Taco Bell, claiming that the chain was using his name without permission in a marketing campaign.
In the campaign, Taco Bell asked that the rapper change his name to “79 Cent”, “89 Cent” or “99 Cent”, to promote its menu items that cost less than a dollar.
Taco Bell sent a joke letter addressed to 50 Cent to news outlets around the country, but not to the rapper, the suit said. The rapper claimed this led consumers to believe he was part of the campaign.
In 2009, the New York Post reported that a settlement had been reached.
Paris Hilton takes on Hallmark
Back in 2009, celebrity Paris Hilton did battle with greeting card maker Hallmark.
Hilton had been granted US trademark number 4,649,417 in 2007 for the phrase ‘That’s hot’, after using it in the reality TV series “The Simple Life”.
The trademark covers use with multimedia entertainment services in the nature of recording, production, and post production services in the fields of music, video, film.
Hilton sued Hallmark over a card that made a pun on the phrase and featured a caption that read “Paris's First Day as a Waitress”.
Although a confidentiality agreement limited the release of the terms, The Hollywood Reporter claimed it has “reason to believe” that Paris Hilton left with a “favourable package”.
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