Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Kamala Harris Files Two Applications to Register Her Campaign Slogan as a Trademark

Presidential campaign season is kicking off again and with that comes federal trademark applications for various campaign slogans and logos. The most recent applications come from Kamala Harris, who recently announced her candidacy for president on January 21, 2019.

Almost two weeks later, on February 1, 2019, the Kamala Harris for the People non-profit corporation filed two trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The first application is for the words KAMALA HARRIS FOR THE PEOPLE, while the second is for the stylized version seen below.
Both applications cover the exact same goods and services, which are goods and services you'd expect a campaign-related trademark application to cover, such as:
  • Political campaign services, namely, promoting public awareness of Kamala Harris as a candidate for public office; providing online information regarding the 2020 presidential election; online retail store services (Class 35); 
  • Political campaign services, namely, fundraising in connection with the 2020 presidential election (Class 41);
  • Jewelry; lapel pins; cuff links (Class 14);
  • Yard signs; placards and banners; posters (Class 16); and
  • Apparel; headwear (Class 25).
These are the first federal trademark applications filed by the Kamala Harris for the People non-profit corporation. An attorney in the Seattle office of Perkins Coie filed the applications.

This isn't the first time I've blogged about a campaign-related trademark application, nor are such applications uncommon. In August 2015, Donald Trump filed an application for TRUMP covering a variety of campaign materials (that application matured into a registration). Later in August 2016, Evan McMullin filed an application for his presidential campaign logo (which is still registered). And finally, Kid Rock filed an application for KID ROCK FOR SENATE, despite apparently never having an intention to run for Congress (that application was refused for a variety of reasons and may not register).

Expect the filing of more campaign-related trademark applications as the campaign trail starts to heat up.

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