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Topic: Disney Moves to Trademark "Seal Team 6"

Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 05-17-2011 05:52 AM

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/disney-moves-to-trademark-seal-team-6-is-this-right

[ 05-18-2011, 11:09 AM: Message edited by: Adam Martin ]

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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-17-2011 09:01 AM

Isn't the term "SEAL Team Six" in the public domain because it is paid for by our tax money?

The American flag and the Space Shuttle can't be copyrighted or trade marked. You can't own terms like "United States Army" or "The White House." Anybody can use these terms any time they want as long as they don't commit an act of false advertising or claim that they or their product represents or is endorsed by the government.

So, in other words, I can make T-shirts that say, "SEAL Team Six" on them but I can't claim that my shirts are actually worn by members of SEAL Team Six or that the Navy somehow endorsed the product.

Nobody can stop me from using the name "SEAL Team Six" in any legal way. Nobody has the right to claim copyright or trademark because it's automatically public domain because our tax money paid for it.

As an example, look at the "FDNY" hats and T-shirts that popped up all over the place right after the World Trade Center was attacked. Again, public domain. As long as you don't claim that you actually represent the New York City Fire Department, you can make and sell as many "FDNY" T-shirts as you want. Anybody can. Tax money paid for it. It's public domain.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-17-2011 12:51 PM

Well. Besides agreeing with Randy's post, I also think this is a bunch of hooey.

First, if you click on the link to the original story, and then click on the links to the "application," all three of the links are "expired." So if you click to start a new search, and then type in "seal team 6," you get nothing (or at least, I didn't see anything related to Disney in the first few pages of results).

I think this whole thing is a misguided reaction to a new book, called "Seal Team 6," that has just been released. There's an article about it in the new issue of Time magazine. The author is a former Navy SEAL and he wrote this book about the SEALs, and cleared everything with the Navy before it was published.

Supposedly the timing was accidental; according to the article the book was set for publication before the Bin Laden event happened.

If Disney did anything, I would bet that they optioned the rights to the book with the idea of making a movie out of it. With the movie would come promotional tie-in items. It doesn't mean they're going to start production next week. It could be years before they do anything with it.

In short....it's probably another stupid media storm about nothing.

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Adam Martin
I'm not even gonna point out the irony.

Posts: 3686
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 05-17-2011 12:52 PM

Site Policies 4 and 7 violated. Please fix.

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Anslem Rayburn
Master Film Handler

Posts: 476
From: Yuma, AZ, USA
Registered: May 2002

posted 05-17-2011 07:11 PM

Go to http://www.uspto.gov/index.jsp and click "Search Marks" under the "Trademarks" heading, then click "Basic Word Mark Search". Now Search for "Seal Team 6".

First 3 listings are exactly what is described in the article.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-17-2011 09:49 PM

OK, I stand corrected -- they applied to trademark the words. But, I still think if anything happens at all, it's going to be a tie-in with that book.

(Or, maybe they're going to replace "Extra Terrorestrial Alien Encounter" with "SEAL Team 6 Bin Laden Encounter." It would have to be an improvement over what's there now.)

Anytime Disney does anything to enhance their bottom line, people say it's "greed." It's not greed, it's a smart company looking for a way to make a buck. CEOs of other companies are probably right now smacking their foreheads and saying, "Crap, why didn't we think of that?

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Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 05-18-2011 08:37 AM

Edit Time Expired, but here is the text. Can't do anything about the title, though; should be something like, The Rodent Tries To Trademark Seal Team 6.

quote:
Entertainment
Disney Moves to Trademark "Seal Team 6" -- Is This Right?

Just because you CAN do something, doesn’t mean you should. Or does it?

Mediabistro is reporting that Disney has applied for trademarks on SEAL Team 6.

The trademark applications came on May 3rd, two days after the operation that killed Bin Laden… and two days after “Seal Team 6″ was included in thousands of news articles and TV programs focusing on the operation.

Disney’s trademark applications for "Seal Team 6″ cover clothing, footwear, headwear, toys, games and “entertainment and education services,” among other things.

Digging deeper within the trademark application we see that Disney has some wide-ranging plans for the Navy SEAL merchandising. They have requested trademark protection with the intent to make and sell the following;

Toys, games and playthings; gymnastic and sporting articles (except clothing); hand-held units for playing electronic games other than those adapted for use with an external display screen or monitor; Christmas stockings; Christmas tree ornaments and decorations; snow globes.

SNOW GLOBES?

Of course, Disney also filed an application for a trademark on a SEAL Team 6 movie. There is little doubt that within hours of the attack that killed bin Laden many Hollywood studios fired up the old action-adventure engines, dusted off scripts that were pro-U.S. military, and pushed those rom-coms off to the far corners of the production calendar. Disney just seems to have beaten them all to the punch.

Therefore, the question remains: just because you can do something, should you?

I am with Randy on this -- I would think this is in the Public Domain as well, but we have seen the distain the studios have for PD; everyone thought IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE was in the Public Domain too. And just because they CLAIM copyright or trademark, doesn't mean it can't be challenged. Problem with PD is that while the studios have battalions of lawyers to fight for their trademarks and copyrights, the public only has Congress. See the problem?

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Chad Souder
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 962
From: Waterloo, IA, USA
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 05-19-2011 10:08 AM

The name "SEAL Team 6" is actually no longer in use. It is still used heavily by the media, but not by our government. It has been replaced with "United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group" so the former name would be up for grabs I suppose.

wiki link

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 05-20-2011 11:17 PM

Even if the name "Seal Team 6" is outdated in use by the US Navy and the Navy Seals it still is an item of historical interest.

Disney did NOT invent the term "Seal Team 6."

I meant to make that bold to underscore the point Disney has ZERO claim of ownership for that term. If they can suddenly trademark a term invented by a totally different organization then I should be able to flip through pages of a dictionary and file trademark applications on whatever words I want to claim. My dictionary example is 100% absurd, but so is Disney's claim. They seriously need to shut up. The Navy Seals are a US government funded operation, not a Mickey Mouse funded operation.

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Chad Souder
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 962
From: Waterloo, IA, USA
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 05-22-2011 12:32 AM

You're wrong about that, Bobby. I'm not sure of the exact legal aspects, but you can trademark unique terms despite their origin. Pat Riley trademarked the term "three-peat" even though he was not the first one to use it.

wiki article

You really think Disney wouldn't have checked into the legality of this? A multi-billion dollar company wouldn't think of it? Come on, use your head a little.

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 05-22-2011 12:45 AM

And of course Disney has never lost a single case relating to decisions they've made. [uhoh]

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-22-2011 12:50 PM

Disney made the filing. It doesn't mean they will be granted the trademark on the words, does it?

You can sue anyone you want to for any reason you want, but it doesn't mean you'll automatically win.

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Manny Knowles
"What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???"

Posts: 4247
From: Bloomington, IN, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 05-22-2011 01:05 PM

I think it would be wrong for the government to grant trademarks/patents for something that does not actually exist yet.

At best, I could see granting a patent for a LOGO to be used on all the stuff they "intend" to create, but I don't think they should be able to trademark the actual words/phrase if it already existed. If it's a name they came up with themselves, that's a little different (but still not necessarily a slam-dunk in my opinion).

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 05-22-2011 01:54 PM

quote: Chad Souder
You really think Disney wouldn't have checked into the legality of this? A multi-billion dollar company wouldn't think of it? Come on, use your head a little.

Try using yours. Major corporations use the legal system as a poker game, not something based on "justice" or right and wrong. They count on judges seeing things in shades of grey and making decisions that are very subjective. If they can push things farther and farther in a certain direction to make more money they're going to try doing it.

Even if Disney manages to trademark "Seal Team 6" I'll still consider the move to be disgraceful. I'm not changing my mind about that either.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-22-2011 02:19 PM

Maybe they're planning a movie about real seals. Look at all the success Dreamworks had with the Madagascar penguins! (Nothing is lost on Disney, y'know.)

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