{"id":11214,"date":"2017-02-09T08:25:07","date_gmt":"2017-02-09T08:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=11214"},"modified":"2017-02-09T08:28:39","modified_gmt":"2017-02-09T08:28:39","slug":"beyond-kylie-vs-kylie-9-celebrity-trademark-battles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=11214","title":{"rendered":"Beyond Kylie vs. Kylie: 9 More Celebrity Trademark Battles"},"content":{"rendered":"

For celebrities \u2014 <\/span>much like Marlo from <\/span>The Wire <\/em>\u2014 their name is their name. It\u2019s their livelihood, it\u2019s their first point of recognition for their fans, and in some cases, it\u2019s roughly 90 percent of their earthly value. So you can understand why they might be pretty protective of it.<\/p>\n

With the dust still settling from <\/span>the recent Kylie Minogue vs. Kylie Jenner courtroom battle, we decided to take a look back at some other celebrity lawsuits involving either their name or, in some cases, a certain phrase very near and dear to their heart.<\/p>\n

Sarah and Bristol Palin vs. All Other Sarah and Bristol Palins<\/strong><\/p>\n

In June 2011, <\/span>Sarah Palin finally succeeded <\/span>in becoming a brand \u2014 and she took her daughter, Bristol, with her. It was a process that began in November 2011; the pair\u2019s trademark covered \u201ceducation and entertainment services.\u201d Palin\u2019s relatively normal name caused trouble for at least one other Sarah Palin, a then-20-year-old University of Texas Austin junior. \u201cIf I ever open up a business, I guess I could use my middle name,\u201d <\/span>she told TIME. \u201cSarah Beth Palin isn\u2019t trademarked.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Taylor Swift vs. Various Phrases of the English Language<\/strong><\/p>\n

Taylor Swift went on <\/span>a trademark spree in 2015, attempting to register the phrases \u201cthis sick beat,\u201d \u201cNice to meet you, where you been?\u201d and \u201cParty like it\u2019s 1989,\u201d among roughly 30 others. Unlike copyright law, this is totally acceptable \u2014 traders rights don\u2019t require the phrase in question to be entirely unique or for the applicant to have coined the phrase. One battle she lost, though, was against Blue Sphere, a California company who was waging war against her in court over the phrase \u201cLucky 13.\u201d The company ran the Lucky 13 clothing brand, while Swift just really liked the number, running a \u201cLucky 13\u201d sweepstakes and a partnership with a greeting card company. <\/span>They eventually settled <\/span>out of court.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Paris Hilton vs. Hallmark<\/strong><\/p>\n

Deposed reality queen and <\/span>former heiress Paris Hilton <\/span>sued the Hallmark Company over a card bearing her \u201csignature phrase,\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s hot,\u201d in 2007. The battle dragged on for three years, before an appeals court rejected Hallmark\u2019s protected-speech argument and <\/span>found in Hilton\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Snooki vs. a Fictional Cat<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nicole \u201cSnooki\u201d Polizzi attempted to trademark her signature nickname via the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2010, only to discover that the USPTO had already granted the name \u2014 albeit a version spelled with a \u201cy\u201d \u2014 to a fictional cat with his own book series, by Brian J. Publishing Inc. The Trademark Office <\/span>turned down Snooki\u2019s application <\/span>because of a \u201clikelihood of confusion\u201d between the <\/span>Jersey Shore<\/em> <\/span>star and the fictional cat.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

The Situation vs. the World<\/strong><\/p>\n

Snooki wasn\u2019t the only <\/span>Jersey Shore<\/em> <\/span>personality to attempt to profit off their name. <\/span>Mike \u201cThe Situation\u201d Sorrentino attempted to trademark <\/span>his signature nickname in 2010, only to have it shot down because of a \u201clikelihood of confusion\u201d between Sorrentino and a Memphis clothing retailer. Similar attempts in 2012 to trademark \u201cGTL\u201d and \u201ctwinning\u201d <\/span>were slapped down by Viacom, who pointed out that Sorrentino signed away the rights to any \u201ccreations\u201d that arose during the show\u2019s broadcast when he signed on to star on the MTV reality show.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Blue Ivy vs. Colors and Foliage<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jay Z and Beyonc\u00e9 succeeded in trademarking daughter Blue Ivy\u2019s name shortly after she was born in 2012. Their motivation, <\/span>as Jay explained to <\/span>Vanity Fair<\/em>, wasn\u2019t for their own profit, though, but simply so they could keep other people from marketing products with her name. (She\u2019s probably just taking after her parents, though: <\/span>Jay and Bey own assorted trademarks <\/span>related to their work ranging from \u201cShawn Carter\u201d to \u201cSasha Fierce\u201d (remember her?) and \u201cYonc\u00e9.\u201d)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tim Tebow vs. Prayer Stances<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tim Tebow\u2019s <\/span>representatives trademarked his signature prayer stance in 2012, ensuring that no one would be able to profit from a common global gesture ever again.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lady Gaga vs. Ice Cream<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lady Gaga sued a British ice cream vendor over its \u201cBaby Gaga\u201d ice cream \u2014 ice cream made from human breast milk. \u201cHow can she possibly claim ownership of the word \u2018gaga\u2019 which since the dawn of time has been one of the first discernible phrases to come from a baby\u2019s mouth?\u201d Matt O\u2019Connor, the parlor\u2019s owner, <\/span>rhetorically asked the <\/span>Guardian<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Madonna vs. a Different Material Girl<\/strong><\/p>\n

Madonna owns \u201cMadonna,\u201d which makes sense, but her attempts to trademark the name of her signature hit haven\u2019t gone as well. <\/span>A federal judge in California rejected her claim <\/span>to the title \u2014 she was battling LA Triumph, a clothing retailer that\u2019s been selling \u201cMaterial Girl\u201d clothing since 1997 \u2014 saying that \u201cthe singing of a song does not create a trademark.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For celebrities \u2014 much like Marlo from The Wire \u2014 their name is their name. It\u2019s their livelihood, it\u2019s their first point of recognition for their fans, and in some cases, it\u2019s roughly 90 percent of their earthly value. So you can understand why they might be pretty protective of it. With the dust still settling from the recent …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11216,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[391],"tags":[584],"yoast_head":"\nBeyond Kylie vs. Kylie: 9 More Celebrity Trademark Battles - TheFastFashion.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=11214\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beyond Kylie vs. Kylie: 9 More Celebrity Trademark Battles - TheFastFashion.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For celebrities \u2014 much like Marlo from The Wire \u2014 their name is their name. 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