OK, I get that they have a bunch of other things on their minds, what with two wars, chasing that varmint in Libya and other high-risk, globe-spanning activities. But, you would think that with all the intellectual bandwidth at their disposal, the military would have realized the value of their brands, trademarks, copyrights and licenses. In short, that after almost 250 years of non-stop action, they would figure out that they own some pretty valuable intellectual property (IP).
As you may recall, the brouhaha started when Disney moved to trademark 'Seal Team 6" two days after the legendary counter-terrorism unit took out Osama Bin Laden. What was Disney thinking: the Karate Kid Grows Up and Becomes a Navy Seal? Or better yet, the Kung Fu Panda Kills Koo-Koo Kreatures? Maybe get Denzell to reprise his role in "Remember the Titans," but with a commando unit instead of a high school football team? Yeah, that was really going to work. So, Disney 'graciously' deferred to the Defense Department - just before they were hooted out of public life.
The interesting strategic question is why the military, which is charged with cyber defense, was not more aware of intangible value. Especially given that a significant piece of its charge now is defending the nation's wealth, much of which is online and, shall we say, somewhat ephemeral, if no less valuable for all that. However, just like in most Disney movies there is a happy ending. The military is copyrighting and trademarking like, well, a helicopter assault. Except for the Air Force; some heating and ventilating company has beaten them to that term. Hooah. JL
Abe Sauer reports in Brand Channel:
"On May 26, The L.A. Times quoted a Disney spokesman reasoning that "Out of deference to the Navy's application for these trademarks, we have withdrawn ours." It was the end of the weeks-long outrage over Disney's move to trademark "Seal Team 6" just two days after that unit was reported to have killed Osama Bin Laden. In those weeks, the Navy itself had moved to trademark "Navy Seals."
One positive outcome of Disney's bold move was that it appears to have lit a flame under the butt of the Department of the Navy. On May 25th, the day before Disney's withdrawal, the Navy made its latest application to trademark both "Marine Ops: The Crucible" and "Marine Ops."
The Marine Corps' official word on The Crucible is "For 54 straight hours, recruits’ endurance, teamwork and skills will be pushed to the limit. Through perseverance and courage, they will finish as platoons and earn the title Marine."
The Crucible is a Marine tradition and worth protecting with a mark.
In protecting their intellectual property, other armed forces branches are following the Navy's lead, or, in some cases, leading it. Well before the bin Laden news, the National Guard had moved to trademark "National Guard" on Feb. 1, 2011.
A month later, on March 9, the National Guard went further, applying to trademark its motto "Citizen-Soldier."
April 27 saw an application from the Dept. of the Army for "No Guts No Glory." And on May 31, proving it wasn't done yet, the Dept. of the Navy filed to protect "Marine Week," a variation of the Navy's more famous Fleet Week, but held in Boston and restricted to Marines.
It's a good move, one that not only protects the cultural property of the armed forces from erosion. For example, starting in February, a company called Master Cutlery began applying for trademarks on terms such as "Army Special Ops" and "Air Force Ops" for use on a variety of knives.
By owning the marks it protects the terms but also allows these offices to license out that intellectual property for income.
For example, ever heard a soldier howl out "Hooah?"
While the origins of "Hooah" are unclear, the meaning is not. A staple of military drills, maneuvers and culture, "hooah" means "anything and everything except no." Early on, the Army recognized its term as valuable property and trademarked it. Then, in 1996, the Army created the Hooah Bar (also, Oo-Rah Bar), a calorie-loaded energy bar for use by troops in the field.
In 2004, D'Andrea Brothers LLC licensed the trademark for the bar from the Army and began selling it under the label "Soldier Fuel." (Interestingly enough, on March 27, 2007 D'Andrea Brothers LLC was also granted use of the mark "Hooah" for "Computer services, namely, hosting on-line web facilities for others for organizing and conducting on-line meetings, gatherings, and interactive discussions.") Available today at an online retailer near you.
Meanwhile Air Force better get on the ball. The mark "Air Force" was granted to Heat and Control Inc. on May 3 for use in "Commercial cooking ovens" and "Industrial cooking ovens."
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