Sarah Palin Seeks To Trademark Her Name 329
Hugh Pickens writes "The LA Times reports that former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has filed paperwork with the US Patent and Trademark Office in November to trademark her name. On her initial application, Palin listed usage of the trademark for a website featuring information about political issues; and educational and entertainment services, including motivational speaking in the fields of politics, culture, business and values. Legal experts say it is relatively unusual for politicians to formally trademark their names because they are generally not associated with commercially valuable products or services and that trademarking a name is more common for celebrities in the fields of entertainment, fashion or sports. 'Sarah is somebody who is now out of government and pursuing other activities, in particular, speaking engagements ... and it looks like she's looking to protect her name with those activities,' says attorney Claudia Ray."
1st Amendment (Score:5, Insightful)
$10 says she uses this as a club to try to quell speech that she doesn't like.
Re:1st Amendment (Score:1, Insightful)
$10 says she uses this as a club to try to quell speech that she doesn't like.
You need to pay more attention. It's the people on the left who are the ones who routinely look to shut down others' speech. Just count how many people scramble around looking for ways to shut her down, compared to the number of people she's said should be prevented from speaking (none, that I'm aware of). I have no interest in her as a politician, and I suspect she's no longer interested in holding office, either. She wants to be a talk brand, and trademarking her name isn't any different than Martha Stewart doing the same.
Re:1st Amendment (Score:1, Insightful)
Aww, did we stwike a nerve wit the widdle neo-con?
Re:1st Amendment (Score:5, Insightful)
You need to pay more attention. It's those in power who routinely try to shut down other's speech. Whether they are left or right seems to matter little. Power corrupts most of them it seems.
Maybe it's just the human condition, hence the founding fathers' attempts at limiting governments power.
The Summary Answers Itself... (Score:5, Insightful)
more common for celebrities in the fields of entertainment, fashion or sports
She is clearly in entertainment - how many TV shows are about her right now?
She is also in fashion - we all heard about her massive wardrobe budget when she was campaigning with McCain.
And her entertainment is sport - at least to her. She tells us about her heroic helicopter hunting trips, and her husbands awesome snowmobile races. Those definitely count as sport where she is.
Re:1st Amendment (Score:3, Insightful)
Glenn Beck has used this tactic in the past. It didn't work. But he tried to have DidGlennBeckRapeAndMurderAYoungGirlIn1990.com shut down because it violated the trademark of his name. But I'm sure if you research this further, you'll see that this tactic is tried time and again by many people of many political walks of life. I have no doubt Palin will try it at some point. Perhaps she'll reserve it for something that is exceedingly offensive or perhaps she'll sue the first liberal blogger that calls her dumb as hair. Either way it is apparent that it is a legal tactic that is irresistible to people.
Re:Hmmm ... (Score:0, Insightful)
Well, we can still use Clueless Bitch, right?
Sure, that is how I refer to Obama!
Re:1st Amendment (Score:3, Insightful)
Scott Adams said it best
When_Did_Ignorance_Become_A_Point_Of_View [wikipedia.org]
Re:1st Amendment (Score:3, Insightful)
When your opponent literally is a moron, it is an accurate point that illustrates the clarity and honesty brought to the political discourse for which she should not be taking part in because she is a fucking moron.
If you want to allow these types of carnies to game our political system for their financial gain at the cost of peoples lives and jobs... you're a fucking moron too.
Re:Hmmm ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Man, you see how he took that dude down? Guy was like "Sarah Palin is a Clueless Bitch" and he came back with "Nuh-uh, Obama's a Clueless Bitch!" He probably high-fived his keyboard after coming up with that witty bon-mot.
It's basically the Sunday morning TV news talk shows, distilled to their essence.
To be fair though, Sarah Palin is pretty much the Platonic ideal of Clueless Bitch. The first poster has accuracy going for him, if not the Oscar Wilde-like ability with the verbal comeback that the second poster showed with his "I know you are, but what am I?"
Re:Hmmm ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Obama is provably the bitch of the powers-that-be. Sarah Palin is provably a clueless bitch, and the same kind of bitch as Obama. So what we have is a couple of little bitches, but one is ever so much bitchier than the others.
Obama has fallen down on his promises again and again. Palin has proven her idiocy time and again. Anyone supporting either of them at this point, however, wins the absolute clueless bitch award. Palin was chosen for unelectability. Obama was chosen for his palatability. END OF LINE.
Re:Hmmm ... (Score:4, Insightful)
^^^ Exactly. In a thread about Palin, they want to discuss Obama.
Re:1st Amendment (Score:5, Insightful)
No, you have not heard that. You made that up.
You may have heard Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh complaining that people are saying that, but nobody is saying that.
Re:1st Amendment (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Hmmm ... (Score:0, Insightful)
The bigger issue is why slashdot posted this story on the front page in the first place.
Its not news for nerds, it has no bearing at all to any tech or nerd issues at all. In fact, there is no basis for posting this story unless you had some political bias and wanted to just score cheap political points.
On short, this entire site should be no Sarah Palin news at all. Somebody please inform douchebag editors like timothy of this.
Re:1st Amendment (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Hmmm ... (Score:1, Insightful)
To be fair though, Sarah Palin is pretty much the Platonic ideal of Clueless Bitch.
And as solid proof of her "cluelessness", she's probably making more in a year than all but a minute portion of Slashdot readers. To be fair, I was planning to slam Obama, but he makes good coin too. Nothing says "clueless" like making lots of money, amirite?
Re:Hmmm ... (Score:1, Insightful)