New York couple tries to trademark 'Occupy Wall St.'

[alp227]

Source: CNN

A Long Island couple wants to trademark the slogan "Occupy Wall St." with the intent to sell sweatshirts, T-shirts, bumper stickers and hobo bags, among other merchandise.

"I'm no marketing genius, but when you got something that's across 50 states, it's a brand now," said 44-year-old Robert Maresca of West Islip, New York.

Maresca's wife, Diane, filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on October 18 and paid a fee of $975.

The move has some Occupy Wall Street supporters perplexed.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/25/us/new-york-occupy-trademark/index.html

[Warren DeMontague]

1. Dude calls himself "fiscally conservative"

Otherwise known as a "rip off artist"

fucking classic.

[daggahead]

2. Is the phrase "Fair and Balanced" copyrighted or trademarked?

Just askin ...

[Jack Rabbit]

6. FoxNews did file some lawsuits several years ago trying to do just that

. . . and not only got laughed out of court, but just laughed at generally. Several liberal/left websites, including DU, used the slogan under their respective logos to make the point about Fox on several levels.

[Tippy]

3. Dam Repukes never play fair.....

[KamaAina]

4. Remember when someone tried to trademark "Let's Roll" after Nineleven?

:eyes:

[slay]

5. Capitalism sucks

I'm not surprised some dickhead would try to turn #OWS into $$$ for himself. fucker.

[patrice]

7. "... and fortune, on this quarrel shining, showed like a rebel's whore."

somewhere in Macbeth by Will Shakespeare

[Downtown Hound]

8. Dear Mr. Maresca

Kindly fuck off and die. Have a nice day.

[AsahinaKimi]

9. So let me see..

1. He buys and trademarks "Occupy Wall Street"
2. He sells merchandise, TEE shirts, cup holders, banners, pennants..etc
3. He is the owner of it, so he has total control over how its used, when and where...
4. He turns around and threatens to sue people for using HIS trademark name and forbids them to use it.

Something like that?

[IDemo]

10. Sounds about right

[sakabatou]

15. Yup

[NashVegas]

22. Exactly Like That

It doesn't have a chance in hell.

[SammyWinstonJack]

11. I hope they're out $975.

:evilgrin:

[mahatmakanejeeves]

12. "... it's a brand now," said 44-year-old Robert Maresca of West Islip, New York."

Maresca....

Isn't that something like Santorum?

One wonders if he thought to register all the domains that could be used to discredit his name.

ETA: I read the CNN article. He claims to have OWS's best interests at heart.

[FreeBillClinton]

13. Doesn't a trademark grant require there be no existing artwork?

[IDemo]

14. That would apply for a patent, not sure about tradmarks though

I did find this -> after the examination of the mark has concluded with no issues to be addressed or an applicant has responded adequately to an examining attorney's concerns, the application will be published for opposition. During this 30-day period third-parties who may be affected by the registration of the trademark may step forward to file an Opposition Proceeding to stop the registration of the mark. If an Opposition proceeding is filed it institutes a case before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to determine both the validity of the grounds for the opposition as well as the ability of the applicant to register the mark at issue.<10> Fourth, provided that no third-party opposes the registration of the mark during the opposition period or the opposition is ultimately decided in the applicant's favor the mark will be registered in due course. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark

It sounds as if they wanted to, parties representing the interests of OWS (anybody) could file an opposition request. Whether that would be upheld is another question.

[Stuckinthebush]

16. Damn Ferengi

Rule of acquisition #52:

"Never ask when you can take"

[Spock_is_Skeptical]

21. Indeed.

[KansDem]

17. I would think the issue of "public domain" might entered into the picture...

In a general context, public domain may refer to ideas, information, and works that are "publicly available", but in the context of intellectual property law (which includes copyright, patents, and trademarks), public domain refers to works, ideas, and information which are intangible to private ownership and/or which are available for use by members of the public.<2>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain

But then, I'm not a trademark lawyer...:shrug:

[No Elephants]

18. "It's a brand now." Yes, but not your brand.

I hope to heaven it appears on some goods of some kind, or this bozo may get away with it.

[provis99]

19. can I trademark "Maresca is an Asshole"?

I'll sell it to him for $1 plus my expenses if he doesn't want the t-shirts printed.

[russspeakeasy]

20. Excellent idea..