Back in May, the romance writing community was rocked by a scandal after
author Faleena Hopkins started enforcing a trademark over the common
word “COCKY” in the titles of romance novels; I predicted then
that there would be some sociopaths who would observe the controversy
and decide that it was an inspiration, rather than a warning, and start
trying to use trademark to steal other words from writers and their
titles.
The application lists a series of self-described “pulp harem fantasies”
by Michael-Scott Earle, published by MSE Media LLC, as evidence of the
mark’s use in connection with a “Downloadable series of fiction books,”
Class 009.
Of course, none of the dozens (hundreds?) of authors who have used
“Dragon Slayer” in a title have sought a trademark, because the term is
generic and not trademarkable.
If the mark passes the US Patent and Trademark Office’s initial
examination (a notoriously lax process), the other authors who’ve used
this term can file an objection to keep this common term from being
stolen by a single writer.
