Charlie Sheen's "Winning" and Other Trademarked Phrases
By dealtown(view all posts by dealtown)
at 7:58AM Wednesday April 6, 2011
under
Newsworthy
Charlie Sheen is seeking to trademark twenty-two of his now-infamous catchphrases, including "tiger blood," "rock star from Mars," and "duh, winning." He has also moved to trademark his name and signature.
Trademarking a phrase can be very lucrative, and in many cases, very
dumb. Here are five more phrases that you may not know are trademarked.
1.
"That's hot"/ "That's huge"Paris Hilton trademarked her impressively stupid
catchphrase "that's hot" in 2004. In 2007, she
sued Hallmark for using the phrase, along with her photo, on a greeting card. The
lawsuit was settled in 2010. While the actual terms were not released to the public, it's believed that Hilton "walked away with a favorable package." But Hilton's trademarking endeavors don't end there: she's also
trademarked her new catchphrase "that's huge," so think twice before printing any greeting cards featuring that phrase.
2.
"Let's get ready to rumble!"
Ring announcer
Michael Buffer trademarked his signature phrase, "Let's get ready to rumble!" in 1992. He has used the phrase in many licensing deals, including video games, albums, and commercials, most hilariously in a Kraft cheese commercial in which he says "Let's get ready to crumble!" As of 2009, he had made more than $400 million from trademark licensing.
3.
"Three-peat"In sports, a three-peat occurs when a team wins three consecutive championship games. In 1988, now-retired NBA coach
Pat Riley trademarked the phrase for use on apparel. Don't worry, you can still say the phrase without having to
send Pat Riley money, which some people were apparently worried about. Just don't print it on any windbreakers.
4.
"There's an app for that"Apparently, this ultra-popular phrase has been trademarked since October of 2010.
Apple filed a trademark application for the phrase in December of 2009. The trademark applies to usage by basically any consumer electronics service, either in brick-and-mortar retail stores or on the Internet. As
Wired points out, this will not put an end to
"there's an app for that" jokes.
5.
"Can't wait!"New York Jets linebacker
Bart Scott has filed for trademark of the phrase "Can't wait!" which he used in a post-game television interview. The video of the January 2011 interview went viral, and "Can't wait!" enjoyed a brief stint as buzzphrase of the hour. Because of its popularity, Scott filed for trademark with the intent to use the phrase on apparel, declaring "If anybody is going to benefit off 'Can't wait!', it should be [him]." The case has raised questions about whether a person can
trademark a phrase on the grounds that they said on television one time.
Got any catch phrases you're thinking of trademarking? Share 'em with us in the comments.
Charlie Sheen is trademarking TWENTY-TWO of his phrases? That seems excessive.
In other news, I will be filing a trademark for "That seems excessive."
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Paris Hilton forgot to TM "loves it". Or was that the Kardashians?
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