Last May, I mentioned a case for writers to pay attention to. Faleena Hopkins had gotten the U.S. government to trademark the word “cocky” for her use alone. I missed it at the time, but her case was largely laughed out of court. Nevertheless, she is persisting (and not in a good way).
I’m glad to see the strong pushback against Hopkins. I have nothing against trademark per se, but trying to own a common word or phrase – especially when it has been in use for decades or centuries – is an attack against all the users of a language. If someone back in the 1800s had trademarked the word (e.g.) “star” for his short story or novel, there would have been no titles such as “Star Trek,” “Star Wars,” “Stargate,” “A Star is Born,” “The Stars My Destination,” “Starship Troopers,” “The Evening Star,” “Dark Star,” and hundreds of others.
I’ll try to keep a closer watch on #Cockygate as it meanders through our legal system.