Miami Beach man's attempt to trademark Obama bin Laden fails

[SteppingRazor]

A U.S. government attorney has rejected a man's application to trademark the name ``Obama bin Laden,'' saying the name was too similar to a U.S. presidential candidate and an alleged terrorist.

Karen Bush, a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office lawyer, said Alexandre Batlle's application for the name was rejected because it made false connections between two people.

``The examining attorney refuses registration because the mark consists of or comprises matter which may falsely suggest a connection with the individuals Osama bin Laden and Barack Obama,'' Bush wrote in a Feb. 6 application response.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-215obamabinladen,0,1696328.story?track=rss



Hey, whattaya know? A Bush finally did something right!

[LisaM]

1. LOL - good for her!

There are many reasons that trademark shouldn't be allowed to register, but she sounds as if she acted professionally.

[Radical Activist]

2. I wish I could trademark it myself

and charge any Republican that says it $1 million dollars for each use.

[KansDem]

6. Reminds me of a report I saw some 15 years ago on TeeVee...

A man was fed up with telemarketers, so he kept a list by his phone and whenever he'd get a telemarketer call, he'd ask for specific information, i.e., name of company, address, phone number,and name of telemarketer. Then he'd send a registered letter to the company, instructing them that if he received another marketing call from that company, he'd charge them $100 for the use of his name. That tended to put the kibosh on getting any more marketing calls from that company.

It was a lot of work but it paid off for him. Now, however, we have the "opt-out" option.

[rebel with a cause]

3. Wow, a bush with good sense.

It is a shame that fox news, and those working there, does not have as much.

Man, what a dick this guy is. I wonder if Obama will take note of this and do something to stop him from continuing to sell items wih that name on them? Probably not, since that could cause a negative reaction. :mad:

[zbdent]

4. Suggest it to Barack Obama ...

so that he can claim financial damages for anybody using that ...

And trademark his image and name ... didn't Rudy pull that stunt?

[LisaM]

5. You can't file a trademark just to reserve a name

you have to either offer goods and services, or have a bona fide intent to (there are penalties for filing without a bona fide intent to use). You can register domain names with no intention of using them, but not trademarks.

[theaudacity]

7. what about "Iraq Hussein Osama"

[Hekate]

8. Slander, slander, smear, and lie. But can't this guy still get a website?

There seem to be a lot of websites, domain names, and the like with scurrilous names.

At least there's one roadblock to his slanderous intent. Kudos to Karen Bush.

Hekate

[Qutzupalotl]

9. With a name like hers, I guess she can empathize.

Probably doesn't like being associated with the 'resident in people's minds.