Kanye West, popularly known as Ye, is a popular rapper and later turned into a fashion designer. During Paris Fashion Week of 2022, Kanye revealed his “White Lives Matter” T-shirts on the catwalk event. He also received threats for using racist comments on his T-shirts. Apart from that, one important reason made him unable to sell his t-shirts anymore legally. Read on to know more about the “White Lives Matter” T-shirts and the trademark law associated with them.
Who owns the Trademark of “White Lives Matter”?
Two black men, Ramses Ja and Quinton Ward (Ja and Ward), host the radio show Civic Cipher. It is a justice show for racism, hosted weekly in Phoenix, Arizona. It happened when an anonymous listener of this show wanted to hand over the trademark of the phrase to these two hosts. The listener wanted to make sure that the phrase should be protected and not be misused by others.
After that, the two hosts got ownership over the trademark registered with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) on October 28, 2022. Now, anyone who tries to use the trademark without their permission or tries to make money out of it will be sued legally.
The Reason behind the Trademark Transfer
As no one can use or try to monetize the trademark without their permission, there is a primary reason behind the trademark transfer. Within six to nine months after the trademark transfer, the hosts will be given the right to use the phrase on wearables. Since the phrase is related to racism and against Black lives, it was difficult for the hosts to accept the trademark from the anonymous listener.
The hosts revealed the reason behind accepting the trademark. They said that if not them, anyone else would own the trademark and might use them in a way that could hurt people. Also, they said that if they were to sell the trademark, they would use the amount to donate to organizations that would benefit Black lives. The listener also believed the same, and that’s why he wanted to hand the phrase over to the hosts. The listener obtained the trademark at first to create t-shirts with that phrase, but he didn’t do the same. He wanted to make sure it wouldn’t hurt people and transfer it to someone in a position to benefit Black people.
However, the hosts said they couldn’t prevent the selling of t-shirts because writing cease and desist letters to those who sell them would be more expensive.
How do Ja and Ward react to Ye’s action?
The hosts said that anyone who tried to use or monetize the trademark without their permission would be sued and receive a lawsuit. However, how did they react when Kanye West wore the t-shirts with the phrase during fashion week? They said that it was hurtful but not an unexpected one since they already knew that it was going to happen. Both the hosts are appreciated by many since they stopped Kanye West from further using the phrase.
How to identify whether your trademark is unique?
Trademarks can be of anything, such as a name, logo, or slogan, that uniquely represents a brand or a company. Anyone who owns a trademark over a name or logo can sue or file a lawsuit against anyone who tries to use it (or infringe it) without their legal permission. Nowadays, filing a trademark has become more effective. One can file a trademark with USPTO online through the TEAS (Trademark Electronic Application System). To file a trademark online, you should have an account with the USPTO and submit all the required documents during the application process.
Before applying for a patent or trademark, one has to make sure that theirs is unique and that nothing similar to the work already exists in the USPTO database. This is called prior art. Applications that are found to be similar to any prior art will be rejected by the USPTO.
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Since Ja and Ward are the trademark owners of the phrase “White Lives Matter,” only they can use it and file a lawsuit against anyone who tries to use or monetize it.
If you want to register a copyright, trademark, or patent for your invention and looking for guidance, Brealant is here to help you. Brealant is an IP services-related firm helping people to make their registrations successful with the USPTO. Our attorneys will assist you in every step of the registration process and clear all your IP services and registration queries. Contact Brealant today to get assistance throughout the registration journey, get your registrations successful with the USPTO, and protect your properties from infringements and unauthorized usage.