“White Lives Matter” Trademark Could Signal (More) Impending Woes for Kanye
Question: What happens when a hand grenade of a slogan lands in your lap, with the surprise plot twist that you unilaterally OWN the federal trademark rights to it?
This isn’t a trick question, a joke, or a Zen koan. This exact scenario happened to the hosts of Phoenix’s Civic Cipher radio program, Ramses Ja and Quinton Ward, on October 28th, 2022, live on the air—with some shocking side effects!
The original owner of the trademark filing to “White Lives Matter” called in to Civic Cipher and (abbreviating substantially for time purposes) informed the hosts that ownership of the trademark had been officially transferred to them. On its face, this left Ja and Ward, both of whom are Black, the legal owners of a politically explosive slogan with ramifications far beyond Phoenix, Arizona, the desert Southwest, or even the Western USA. In fact, “White Lives Matter” could justifiably be said to be “the slogan heard around the world”—and that’s not necessarily a good thing. However, the trademark is only pending and has not been formally issued yet*, which will become important shortly.
“White Lives Matter,” “Blue Lives Matter,” and “All Lives Matter” all have an equally weighty and fraught history, especially in light of where and how the Black Lives Matter movement started. For most Americans, our first awareness of Black Lives Matter was sparked in the immediate aftermath of the publicized murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. However, Black Lives Matter actually began as a Twitter hashtag seven years earlier, after the acquittal of Florida man George Zimmerman for the slaying of Trayvon Martin, a Black teen who was only 17 years old at the time of his death. It would be seven more years before Black Lives Matter really took root in the broader American consciousness, in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the ensuing protests and riots across the nation and, indeed, the world.
However, “White Lives Matter” and its other counterparts quickly took root as a pseudointellectual “gotcha” response to Black Lives Matter. The argument, in a nutshell, ran as follows: If Black lives matter, why are White, blue (police officer), or indeed ALL lives not weighted the same in this rubric? The answer, of course, is that while yes, all lives do in fact matter, the point of the slogan was to draw attention to a disproportionate and tragic representation of Black Americans as victims of unwarranted and unnecessary violence at the hands of law enforcement and others. As Brad Stulberg (@bstulberg) put it on Twitter, paraphrasing other commentators, primarily and especially those from BIPOC demographics, “When a house is burning down in a large neighborhood you don’t run around saying ‘all houses matter.’ You focus on the fire and do everything you can to put it out.”
Now enter Kanye West, who currently appears to be laser-focused on making himself the most hated person in music since Suge Knight and the most divisive public figure overall since Donald Trump left the White House. In the midst of the fallout from a high-profile divorce from Kim Kardashian, blatantly anti-Semitic statements on social media which resulted in the loss of key partnerships with Adidas and Gap and the relative cratering of his net worth from an estimated $1.5 billion to a “mere” $400 million, and the general implosion of his previously-rising star predicted by, among others, comedian Carlos Mencia in 2006, Ye decided, on October 4th, 2022, to hold a “secret” Paris Fashion Week event featuring a T-shirt with the slogan “White Lives Matter.” Adding to the controversy, which would have been more than adequately fueled by the slogan itself, given the Anti-Defamation League has classified it as hate speech, West doubled down (at least) by having a photo of Pope John Paul II on the front of the shirts displayed in the show, one of which he wore to the event.
The problem is, Ye apparently didn’t legally have the right to use that slogan, given that the trademark on said slogan already supposedly belonged to someone in the Phoenix, AZ area—who then handed the political hot potato off to a pair of unsuspecting radio hosts legally, giving them full rights to the use, or curtailing of use, for the slogan.
To their credit, Ja and Ward’s statements regarding their sudden ownership of the “White Lives Matter” trademark strongly suggest, rather than a publicity stunt or a prank, they are taking this windfall IP with the appropriate gravity and deliberation, albeit not without having a little fun with it. For example, they said that if Ye or any other person or corporate entity wanted to use “White Lives Matter” without facing legal action, he would need to cough up at least $1 BILLION USD. This would be a very tall order for the rapper/mogul, given that at his most successful and popular, that figure would have represented at least half of Ye’s personal wealth. However, if the trademark is ultimately denied, this would be completely irrelevant.
However, Ja and Ward also note that they don’t currently possess the legal firepower they’d need to bring to bear to properly and aggressively defend their trademark from interlopers such as West. Moreover, as per statements made by Ja to NPR, both radio personalities indicate they recognize the fraught nature of the slogan, which is used by the KKK and other White nationalist organizations as a rallying cry. They have already pledged to use at least half of any proceeds from the slogan to help fund certain organizations assisting BIPOC communities and causes, and to try to find other ways to leverage this particular IP to help advance the cause of a more just, equitable, and safe society for all, starting with those in BIPOC communities.
Which way is the wind blowing?
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By Ye’s lights, the wind is still blowing due West. Based on his public statements, he appears to regard his slide in the public eye as a tempest in a teacup, a series of inconsequential hiccups which he can course-correct at any time he chooses without any true long-term damage to his reputation or wealth. The existence of a GoFundMe with the explicit aim of restoring Ye’s billionaire status would seem to bear this out.
However, in the eyes of the law, the matter is simpler. Because the trademark had not been issued as of the time West put on his fashion show, there could be no infringement. Infringement can only exist after there's a legal IP in place to infringe to begin with. With this said, as long as Ja and Ward are prepared to wage the necessary legal battles to defend their contentious IP for as long as required, and provided the mark goes through and is registered by USPTO, Ye really wouldn't have a leg to stand on in court if he attempted further use beyond that point. The result if he tried would likely be a protracted legal battle which, ultimately, Ye couldn’t possibly win because, in such a case, he would not own or have licensed the trademarks necessary to utilize “White Lives Matter” for profit in a public forum. Granted, a net worth of even $400 million can afford formidable legal barriers, but the final outcome if taken strictly by how settled case law and statute reads would seem to inevitably favor Ja and Ward.
Thus, if the trademark is granted and Ja and Ward, and their supporters, can marshal the forces and resources necessary, even Kanye West’s ego may prove to be no match for the collective might and mass of federal trademark law.
If the trademark is granted, then whoever prevails in open court, and perhaps more importantly in the court of public opinion, likely has the power to bolster or rewrite our understanding of how IP law functions for decades to come—making this a situation to watch very closely for intellectual property enthusiasts of all stripes!
About the Author
John Rizvi is a Registered and Board Certified Patent Attorney, Adjunct Professor of Intellectual Property Law, best-selling author, and featured speaker on topics of interest to inventors and entrepreneurs (including TEDx).
His books include?"Escaping the Gray"?and?"Think and Grow Rich for Inventors"?and have won critical acclaim including an endorsement from Kevin Harrington, one of the original sharks on the hit TV show - Shark Tank, responsible for the successful launch of over 500 products resulting in more than $5 billion in sales worldwide. You can learn more about Professor Rizvi and his patent law practice at?www.ThePatentProfessor.com
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