Trump may get sued over catchphrase
David
Trump's trademark plan is under fire
Glenview pottery store fights back
By Ameet Sachdev
Donald Trump doesn't know Susan Brenner. He will soon.
The Northbrook woman could put a wrench in Trump's plans to trademark
the phrase "You're fired."
Those two words have gained new popularity as the show-stealing line
uttered at the end of each episode of NBC's hit TV show "The
Apprentice." Last month, Trump filed a trademark application for the
phrase.
As it happens, Brenner owns a ceramics studio and pottery store in
north suburban Glenview by the same name. A friend suggested the name
when she opened seven years ago, and Brenner thought it was a catchy
pun.
But the name doesn't sound so funny to her now that Trump has lifted
the phrase into the pop-culture lexicon and is trying to legally make
it his own.
"Every person who walks into store now says `Oh you're copying Donald
Trump,'" Brenner said. "And I say `No, he's copying me.'"
While she laughs about the situation, she's also concerned about
confusion over the store's identity--a brand she has cultivated
through hard work and advertising. Customers come from as far as
Wisconsin to attend pottery painting parties at her store.
"I just did a mailing to 5,000 people, so we're not teensy," she said.
So Brenner took a page out of Trump's business handbook and called her
attorney, who's drafting a letter to Trump seeking to halt his
trademark plans.
"People are associating her with Donald Trump and want to know why
she's using his mark," said her attorney, Marvin Benn of Much Shelist
Freed Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein in Chicago. "All the money she
spent on advertising, all that good will will be taken away from her."
One problem: Brenner never registered the name of her business with
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
That doesn't matter, according to Benn, who says Brenner still has
legal rights to "You're fired," particularly in the Chicago area and
other parts of the Midwest where the store has a following.
Brenner may not be the only small-business owner with a claim on the
"You're fired" brand. There are other pottery and craft stores across
the country using the moniker "You're Fired."
Trump's attempt to trademark a familiar phrase that people use each
day is not unusual. Other phrases, such as "Let's roll," "Shock and
awe," and "Fair and balanced" are trademarked for a certain product or
service.
Known for his gaudy casinos and unusual mane of copper hair, Trump
dismisses underlings on the reality television show with a curt
"You're fired."
The show has become so popular that Bloomingdale's began selling
T-shirts with the slogan for $36.
In his trademark application, Trump said he intends to use the phrase
on games, casino services and clothing.
Because Trump owns casinos in nearby Gary, Ind., Brenner said she is
worried that her store may become associated with gambling.
A youth baseball team in the community wears T-shirts with her store
name on the back.
"It's a really cool show," Brenner said. "But to Donald it's a slogan.
To me, it's a livelihood."
Crowfoot
> the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
>
> That doesn't matter, according to Benn, who says Brenner still has
> legal rights to "You're fired," particularly in the Chicago area and
> other parts of the Midwest where the store has a following.
I say she's shit out of luck, myself. He's got limitless money and
muscle; the only protection against that I can think of is prior
registration of the phrase. But people often run businesses without
concern for trademark or service mark protection right up until their
mark gets taken away from them -- sometimes because they don't know
the risks, sometimes out of being too cheap or too lazy or too given
to procrastination to get the job done. Big mistake.
C.
--
Crow
Doug Mehus
> I say she's shit out of luck, myself. He's got limitless money and
> muscle; the only protection against that I can think of is prior
> registration of the phrase. But people often run businesses without
> concern for trademark or service mark protection right up until their
> mark gets taken away from them -- sometimes because they don't know
> the risks, sometimes out of being too cheap or too lazy or too given
> to procrastination to get the job done. Big mistake.
>
> C.
<--- All she has to due is file an objection with the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office with proof she's been using the phrase as a marketing
slogan prior to 2003 and I'm certain they'd deny the trademark
application.
Also, Trump doesn't have limitless money. His company, The Trump
Organization, owes more than $1 billion in debt and much of it is
coming due very soon. It could refinance to extend the debt payments,
but creditors want to see him ousted as CEO. I saw it on the news last
night.
Cheers,
Doug
D
In article <cc130e48.0403...@posting.google.com>,
dme...@netster.com (Doug Mehus) wrote:
> <--- All she has to due is file an objection with the U.S. Patent and
> Trademark Office with proof she's been using the phrase as a marketing
> slogan prior to 2003 and I'm certain they'd deny the trademark
> application.
I'm not sure how true this is. I vaguely remember hearing of small business
that have used certain names for years getting stuffed when someone bigger
comes along and trademarks a name.
D
Cassie
I have a friend who had a couple of sandwich shops back in the 80's
called "Subway"...... Needless to say, when the big boys came
around, she was forced to change the name........
Cassie