No, Making Fun Of Donald Trump's Stupid Red Hat Isn't Trademark Infringement
from the 99-dumb-red-hats dept
If, like me, you find American presidential politics far more humorously entertaining than anything Adam Sandler has produced in the past decade (at least), you probably already know all about Donald Trump's stupid red hat. This isn't to say anything about Trump's politics, which are also stupid, but the hat he's trotting around with is objectively stupid and if you don't agree, well, you're wrong.
The Trump Mullet: business from the neck down, nationalism up top.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio took a jab at Republican front-runner Donald Trump by wearing a red hat bearing the slogan “Make America Fair Again” during an interview Thursday on CNN, but he might have also violated trademark law in the process.No, actually, he absolutely did not violate trademark law by making fun of Trump's hat with his own hat. There are any number of reasons why this is the case. Essentially, all de Blasio would have to do is shout "Parody!" at anyone discussing this and the conversation is over, as parody is protected under Fair Use. But even beyond that, Trump would have to demonstrate before a court that not only is de Blasio's hat not protected as parody, but that de Blasio is using his hat in commerce in competition with Trump's hat, that the two slogans aren't distinct enough to be easily separated in the mind of a moron in a hurry, and that anyone might be confused into thinking that Trump was behind the "fair" hat. None of those are the case. And, again, parody.
So, no, making fun of Trump's stupid hat isn't even remotely close to a trademark violation. Way to go, news media...
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: bill de blasio, donal trump, free speech, hat, make america great again, parody, trademark, use in commerce
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
so what else buries itself in the ground
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Fair Use and Parody
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Fair Use and Parody
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Fair Use and Parody
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Fair Use and Parody
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Fair Use and Parody
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Fair Use and Parody
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
And different branches of commerce
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
de Blasio no one to talk
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: de Blasio no one to talk
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: de Blasio no one to talk
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: de Blasio no one to talk
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: de Blasio no one to talk
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
NYPD
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
>Obama renames Mt. Mckinley
"Not sure how he can do that..."
@0:25
https://youtu.be/9H9CEK-771I?t=25s
The point about news is to find the answers and inform the public, not perpetuate ignorance and divisiveness.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
"But Trump can't be bought off by donors and lobbyists!" - Yeah, because for the better part of 30+ years that's exactly what he's been doing to our politicians. Guess we've finally decided to cut out the middleman and let the plutocrats run for office.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hmm
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
WHICH "legal analysts"?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It seem's to me he thinks Americans are tired of being told they are not special, that American "Exceptionalism" is wrong. It was suggested that neoconservatives believe that the people of the United States are "God Like" or "God's Chosen" or whatever.. he seem's to believe that is just as wrong as the far lefts belief that we are just the same as every one else, that we are no different than Mexico or Canada.
I get part of what he's saying, and it does appeal to my sense of national pride.
The people of the Unites States ARE exceptional, just as the people of Canada and Mexico are exceptional in their minds. Trump is sayings it's ok to be exceptional, it's ok to think the United States is the best country in the world. Granted he's got a strange, somewhat childish way of getting that point across... but he's not fake, he really believes it.
Looking at some of his positions, he may be the best thing that every happened to the left. He doesn't want to defund planned parenthood, he's all for single payer, if the left could get him to soften his stance on illegal immigration, I would argue he's more democrat than republican.
Regardless of if you think his hat is "stupid", and really feel that pointing that out at least 6 times or so is required to get your point across, regardless of if you think his politics are stupid, which you felt compelled to point out as well, he believes in what he's doing. It's been a long time since I've seen a presidential candidate that truly believed, and would shout it from any podium you give him, that the United States is exceptional.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Regardless of if you think his hat is "stupid", and really feel that pointing that out at least 6 times or so is required to get your point across, regardless of if you think his politics are stupid, which you felt compelled to point out as well, he believes in what he's doing. It's been a long time since I've seen a presidential candidate that truly believed, and would shout it from any podium you give him, that the United States is exceptional.
If we only believed... I think I heard that before.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]