COPYCENSE

One of the things we pride ourselves on is the reliability and credibility of our sourcing. As a firm rule, CopyCense cites only to online and print sources that meet our standards for accuracy, timeliness, and credibility. Therefore, we tend to cite to established publications that refrain from running gossip or sensationalistic stories.

There are times, though, that the really juicy stuff only is available via tabloids. This is one of those times.

The Smoking Gun, that online rag of guilty informational and literary pleasures, has reported that The Donald is suing ex-wife Ivana Trump to keep her from using her name as a trademark in a new real estate business. Writes TSG: “Donald (who is identified as the “famous real estate developer”) argues that issuance of the trademark sought by his ex would be ‘confusingly similar’ to his own valuable handle. Ivana filed her trademark application in September 2004, but it wasn’t until the mark was ‘published’ in February that USPTO proceedings could be started by anyone seeking to challenge the requested trademark.”

Marty Schwimmer, who writes and edits The Trademark Blog [ link ], notes the really pertinent issue: “You’d have thought the divorce settlement would have envisioned this.”

The Smoking Gun. Donald And Ivana In Trademark Tangle. May 3, 2006.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.