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Woman challenges Trump 'You're fired' trademark
30 March 2004 15:41
By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - Chicago pottery merchant Susan Brenner has a message for real-estate mogul Donald Trump: in the Windy City, she'll do the firing.
Capitalizing on the success of his reality-television show, "The Apprentice," Trump has sought to trademark the phrase "You're Fired!" for use on clothing and casino equipment.
But the copper-maned mogul might want to tread carefully in the Chicago area, where Brenner says she has emblazoned the phrase on plates, mugs, birdhouses and other items in her suburban ceramics studio since 1997.
For underlings on "The Apprentice," a "You're fired" from Trump spells the end of a chance to work with one of the most high-profile businessmen of the past 20 years.
For Brenner, "You're fired" is a clever pun on the process of painting and glazing ceramics in her Northbrook, Illinois, studio, said attorney Marvin Benn.
Benn said on Tuesday he was preparing a letter warning Trump that he could be liable for trademark infringement if he sold "You're fired" products in Illinois and neighboring states.
"Because of what's going on, people are coming up to her and saying, 'You're using his mark,'" said Benn, who chairs the intellectual-property group at the law firm Much Shelist.
Brenner is entitled to local trademark protection even though she has not filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Benn said in a telephone interview.
Had she filed a patent application, she would be entitled to nationwide protection, he said.
A Trump spokeswoman declined to comment. "The Apprentice" is shown on the NBC network, a division of General Electric Co.
(c) Reuters 2004. All rights reserved.