Cele-Branding: Building the Brand (Trump)



1.  DONALD TRUMP

When you think of building a brand, one of the first names (and trademarks) you may think of is TRUMP.   Donald Trump is known for his real-estate prowess, his reality tv show “The Apprentice,” and for putting his name on a wide variety of products (suits, steaks, and apartments to name a few).   Trump has even alleged that his brand is bigger than Pepsi or Coke.  So, with a brand that big, you may ask, “what is in his trademark portfolio?”

A search of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office “PTO” Website Database for live marks containing TRUMP yields 178 “hits” including (among many others):

  • TRUMP UNIVERSITY (Registration No. 3321564) for use on “pre-recorded DVD's, CD's, and audiotapes featuring study course material in the field of real estate and entrepreneurship” and “printed materials, namely, books, for home study courses in the field of real estate and entrepreneurship.”
  • TRUMP TOWERS (Registration No. 3321444) for use with “Real estate development of commercial and residential property.”
  • DONALD TRUMP THE FRAGRANCE (Registration No. 3278052) for use on “fragrances.”
  • TRAVEL TRUMP STYLE (Registration No. 3304263) for use with “on-line travel agency services, namely, making reservations and bookings for public and private transportation; arranging travel tours” and “on-line travel agency services, namely, making reservations and bookings for temporary lodging.”
  • GOTRUMP (Registration No. 3304108) for use with “on-line travel agency services, namely, making reservations and bookings for temporary lodging” and “on-line travel agency services, namely, making reservations and bookings for public and private transportation; arranging travel tours.”
  • THE DONALD J. TRUMP SIGNATURE COLLECTION (Registration No. 3291567) for use on “eyewear.”
  • TRUMP (Registration No. 3245415) for use on “watches.”
  • TRUMP LAS OLAS BEACH RESORT (Registration No. 3235051) for use with “real estate services, namely, listing leasing, financing, and managing commercial, residential, and hotel property” and “real estate development and construction of commercial, residential, and hotel property.”
  • TRUMP MORTGAGE (Registration No. 3143575) for use with “mortgage lending and mortgage brokerage services.”
  • TRUMP + Spade Design (Registration No. 3122640) for use on “cologne, perfume, aftershave.”
  • TRUMP MODEL MANAGEMENT (Registration No. 2991841) for use with “model and talent management services.”
  • TRUMP CARD (Registration No. 3279265) for use on “magnetic-coded cards used in connection with a player tracking, marketing, and customer incentives, rewards, and rating program.”
  • PURELY TRUMP (Registration No. 3279265) for use on “spring water.”
All of these records evidence that The Donald is exceptionally aware of his name as a brand, and is diligent about protecting and promoting his brand.   However, despite his business acumen, it is surprising that Donald Trump has registered all of these marks in his own name as an individual.  Why is this important?   Often an individual will assign his trademark rights to a business entity so that those trademarks will continue in perpetuity.   If the marks are registered in the name of an individual and that individual has made no provision in any document for the transfer of those rights upon his or her death or incapacity, only that individual can sign any maintenance and renewal documents to keep those registrations in force.   As an aside, one hopes that even if Donald Trump has made some sort of provision in a document to assign his rights in the event of death or incapacity, he has not done so under some sort of trust provision.   Any filing would need to be made public record in order to evidence a clear chain of title with the PTO.

However, Donald Trump is not the only Trump using the TRUMP mark:

2.  IVANKA TRUMP

Ivanka Trump follows in her father’s footsteps and has filed several trademarks to protect her brand.  A search of the PTO Website Database yields ten “live” hits, including, among others:

  • IVANKA TRUMP (Application Serial No. 78957523) for use on “coffee services of precious metal; cruet stands of precious metal; cruets of precious metal; decorative boxes made of precious metal; desktop statuary made of precious metal; diamonds; figurines of precious metal; flower vases and bowls of precious metal; jewelry; jewelry boxes of precious metal; jewelry cases of precious metal; letter openers of precious metal; napkin holders of precious metal; napkin rings of precious metal; non-electric candelabras made of precious metal; non-electric coffee servers of precious metal; ornaments of precious metal; pearls; picture frames of precious metal; potpourri dishes made in whole or in part of precious metal; precious metal money clips; precious metals, namely, silver; precious gemstones; sculptures made of precious metal; semi-precious gemstones; serving platters of precious metal; serving trays of precious metal; statuettes of precious metal; sugar bowls of precious metal; tankards of precious metal; tea balls of precious metal; tea infusers of precious metal; tea pots of precious metal; tea services of precious metal; timepieces; vases of precious metal.” 
  • IVANKA TRUMP (Application Serial No. 78957527) for use on “retail store services and on-line retail store services in the fields of jewelry, watches, clocks, and items made of silver or other precious metal.”
  • IVANKA TRUMP (Application Serial No. 77072991) for use with “real estate development and construction of commercial, residential, and hotel property.”
  • IVANKA TRUMP (Application Serial No. 77072984) for use with “real estate services, namely, listing, leasing, financing, and managing commercial, residential, and hotel property.”
Interestingly, unlike her father, Ivanka has filed all of the applications under an entity name, Ivanka Trump Marks LLC.  

3.  IVANA TRUMP

A search of IVANA TRUMP in the PTO Website Database yields two “live hits” including:

IVANATRUMP.COM (Registration No. 2879912) for use with “providing a website featuring information on appearances, accomplishments, exploits and the biography of a celebrity” and “online retail store services featuring fragrances, cosmetics, bath products, publications, books, art work, eye wear, jewelry and clothing.”

Ivana Trump has also filed an application for the IVANA TRUMP mark (Application Serial No. 78486404) for use with “real estate services, namely, real estate development” and “real estate services, namely real estate advertising services.”  Interestingly, Donald Trump has filed opposition against his former wife’s application.   The opposition (Opposition No. 91169905) is currently suspended pending settlement negotiations. 


Aimee Kaplan - the trademark attorney dedicated to celebrity brands

Copyright 2007 Aimee Kaplan
Posted by Aimee Kaplan at 10/29/2007 12:00 AM
Categories: Media/Entertainment, Television, I (Name), Perfume/Cologne, D (Name), Real Estate, Jewelry, Entrepreneur, T (Name)
 
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