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3 November 2016Trademarks

Rejected ‘Drumpf’ TM application response due

A rejected trademark that was filed for the term ‘Drumpf’, in reference to US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s alleged ancestral name, will be abandoned if its owner doesn’t respond in the next two days.

In February, WIPR reported that a trademark had been filed for the term ‘Drumpf’ at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Drumpf Industries, based in Delaware, applied for the mark, which is intended to be used as a “provision of a website featuring multimedia content”.

The term ‘Drumpf’ gained popularity after “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver said on his TV show that Trump’s family name was Drumpf.

Trump’s family background was revealed in a book by journalist Gwenda Blair called “The Trumps: Three Generations of Builders and a Presidential Candidate”.

Oliver then started a campaign called “ Make Donald Drumpf Again”, a play on Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again”.

In May, Kapil Bhanot, trademark examining attorney at the USPTO, issued an office action refusing the application.

The mark was refused because “the applied-for mark consists of or comprises a name, portrait, or signature identifying a particular living individual whose written consent to register the mark is not of record.”

Trump didn’t provide written consent for the mark.

Drumpf Industries had six months to respond to the letter and had to provide evidence to support the application.

The examiner said that  to overcome the refusal, Drumpf Industries must provide written consent, including “a statement of Mr Trump’s consent to applicant’s registration of the identifying matter as a trademark, and not just the party’s consent to permit applicant to use the mark”.

The response period ends on November 5, and if the Delaware business does not respond, the mark will be abandoned.

The US presidential election is in its final stages and will be decided on November 8.

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