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By Daniel Davidson

Last week, in the midst of an ugly tragedy of lost life (no matter which way it is sliced or the amount of publicity it receives) Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sabrina Fulton, filed trademarks for “I Am Trayvon” and “Justice for Trayvon.”  With the help of Orlando attorney, Kimra Major-Morris, both trademark applications were filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on an intent to use basis for:

Digital materials, namely, DVDs featuring Trayvon Martin; Digital media, namely, pre-recorded DVDs, downloadable audio and video recordings, and CDs featuring and promoting Trayvon Martin; Digital media, namely, pre-recorded video cassettes, digital video discs, digital versatile discs, downloadable audio and video recordings, DVDs, and high definition digital discs featuring Trayvon Martin; Digital media, namely, CDs and DVDs featuring Trayvon Martin; DVD cases; DVD sleeves; DVDs featuring Trayvon Martin; Pre-recorded CDs, video tapes, laser disks and DVDs featuring Trayvon Martin.

Trayvon Martin, a student and son from Sanford, Orlando, abruptly lost his life on the night of February 26, 2012.  Since then, marches of protest have taken place due to the non-arrest of the man accused of pulling the trigger that night.  The death of the teenager has captured national attention due to racial implications and the Florida “Stand Your ground” law which allows for citizens to use deadly force in “self-defense.”  It has even brought the likes of Reverend Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to the Florida area.

The trademark applications are fueling more debate in the already oversaturated debate in Trayvon’s death.  Many supporters of George Zimmerman (the shooter) are saying that the mother is simply trying to cash in on the highly publicized name.  As was the case during the “Occupy Wall Street” outcry, many people attempted to gain monetarily from the movement.  Filing trademark applications for “Occupy Wall Street,” selling shirts on the internet bearing the moniker, and even rapper Jay-Z started to sell a derivative of the catchphrase, “Occupy All Streets,” on t-shirts.

With that, it is hard to jump to conclusions on any motive other than the family is attempting to preserve their rights in a name.  I mean, heck, the family of Bob Marley is constantly battling in court to keep others from exploiting Marley’s name and likeness.  From the looks of the identifications they filed the applications in (DVDs, CDs, Digital Media, etc.) they are preserving rights in possible documentaries released concerning the Trayvon Martin matter.

Nonetheless, there is also a question of whether an individual’s name can be trademarked?  In some cases it can be.  The name Michael Jordan is trademarked.  It is even trademarked by someone other than the basketball icon.  How is it that his name is trademarked?  Well, an individual’s name can be trademarked with 1) the consent of the individual, and 2) the name has become distinctive of a good or service.  In this case, I think the mother and her attorney will have a hard time overcoming a rejection by the trademark examiner that the mark is merely a surname or that it has not acquired distinctiveness.