Oprah Winfrey Might Go To Court Over Trademark Infringement
Following ruling from the 2nd Circuit a trademark lawsuit against the famous talk show host’s company can now move forward. As per the case, Simone Kelly-Brown, the proprietor of a motivational services business called ‘Own Your Power Communications Inc.’, is litigating Winfrey over her usage of the phrase “Own Your Power” in her magazine and on her website. Kelly-Brown asserts she possesses a trademark on the phrase.
The reason as to why the 2nd Circuit allowed a go ahead to the case against Winfrey was because Winfrey is probably “attempting to build a new segment of her media empire” around the trademark phrase.
There was also a claim by Kelly-Brown that the logo of “Own Your Power” used at the promotional event was look-alike of her own logo. However, the court ruled the appeal saying that the logos were not similar and that Winfrey and her co-defendants does not have to encounter those claims.
The companies against which Kelly-Brown’s case targets are Harpo Inc., as well as Hearst Corp., which publishes O, The Oprah Magazine, and also against Estee Lauder Cos. Inc., which sponsored the magazine’s “Own Your Power” promotional event in 2010. However, the companies Harpo and Hearst said in a joint statement to Thomson Reuters that the First Amendment protects their “editorial use” of the “Own Your Power” phrase.
Trademark Registration in Japan
Patent Attorney：Hiroshi Oogai
Address：304 BUREX Hirakawacho 1-5-15 Hirakawa-cho,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Phone：＋81-3-4570-0792
Mail：contact @ trademark-registration-japan.com
