‘Take a Knee’ applications filed at the USPTO

Two applications have been filed for ‘Take a Knee’ at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), following widespread discussion of the political slogan.

The ‘Take a Knee’ movement was started by Colin Kaepernick, a former quarterback at National Football League (NFL) team the San Francisco 49ers. He had down during the national anthem before a 2016 pre-season game in protest at what he perceived to be poor treatment of African-Americans in the US.

Kaepernick then opted to kneel instead, reportedly in an attempt to show more respect to current and former military personnel, with many athletes following suit in support of the current free agent.

The first trademark application was filed a week after a widespread show of support for the protest from NFL players after President Donald Trump had tweeted that players should be either fired or suspended if they ‘take a knee’ during the anthem.

On September 29, Georgia resident Bonnie Stinson filed a trademark application with the USPTO, number 87628671, for use in educational services, “namely, conducting classes, seminars, conferences, symposiums, exhibits and workshops”.

The trademark “will also utilise promotional items such as caps, t-shirts, mugs, visors, shorts, hoodies with the name attached to it”, the application read.

She claimed it was first used in commerce in January this year.

On October 3, four days after Stinson’s application, New York resident Robert Ryan filed an application for the same slogan.

He filed the application for use in “entertainment and educational services, namely, the presentation of seminars, lectures, workshops and panel discussions, and ongoing television and radio talk shows all in the field of public interest concerning political, social and racial issues”.

The USPTO will be no stranger to handling political slogans, with Trump regularly seeking to enforce his rights to his trademarked ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan.

In March, the US president opposed a mark by textile manufacturer Springs Global US, which had filed a trademark for the slogan in use with products such as bath tiles, bed blankets and pillow cases.

Across the world, IP offices have also had similar issues.

A week after the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in France in 2015, the French IP Office revealed it had rejected 50 applications for the ‘Je Suis Charlie’ slogan, used by many to show solidarity with the victims.

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