Thursday, May 11, 2017

It's not what you say, it's how quickly you trademark it; Reuters, May 11, 2017

Barbara Goldberg, Reuters; 

It's not what you say, it's how quickly you trademark it


"From President Donald Trump's dash to own "Keep America Great" for his 2020 re-election campaign even before he took office to a rush by a foundation for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to claim "Let's Roll" just days after New York's Twin Towers were reduced to rubble, Americans [sic] rushing to trademark catchy phrases.

There were 391,837 trademark applications filed last year, with the number growing an average of 5 percent annually, government reports show. The USPTO does not break out how many of those applications were for phrases.

The upsurge is the result of headline-grabbing cases like socialite Paris Hilton's winning settlement of a lawsuit over her trademarked catch-phrase "That's Hot" from her former television reality show, said trademark attorney Howard Hogan of Washington."

No comments: