Why Kris Jenner Cannot Be a #ProudMama
Do you hashtag? Hashtags are usually used to commune online, or gather information. So why have they become so divisive that people are threatening to sue over them?
If you keep up with the Jenner-Kardashians then you'll know that for the rich, everything is a source of potential profit and litigation. Now proud mama of the famous, profitable, and litigious Kardashian clan, Kris Jenner, faces legal threats from a jewelry brand claiming she's infringing on their intellectual property by using #ProudMama in posts about her children while promoting a jewelry line.
For the Record
Jenner is not using #ProudMama to promote her jewelry line, according to Glamour. The gems for sale are one thing and her children are another. But Jenny Present is concerned about confusion and its own brand dilution.
Jenny Present is a jewelry brand that makes commemorative kid products for proud mamas to wear their children's names around their necks, mamas who are perhaps concerned about forgetting kids' birthdays. The company sent a cease-and-desist to Kris Jenner, threatening to take things further if she continues to use #ProudMama in her posts.
Although Jenner is not using the term to promote her jewelry, she was reportedly aware that Proud Mama is Jenny Present's trademarked property. The brand told TMZ that Jenner learned this when she tried to trademark the phrase "Proud Mama."
What's With Celebrity Trademarks?
Kris Jenner would have liked to own the phrase first and may yet birth her very own term that only she can hashtag. But in the rush to own all the stuff, celebrities sometimes forget that fame in the internet age requires a certain generosity of spirit. Everyone needs engagement. If you want your hashtag to trend, then someone beside you has to be able to use it too.
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Related Resources:
- Keeping Up With the Kardashians Keeps Going (FindLaw's Celebrity Justice)
- Jenner Sister T-Shirts Inspire Lawsuit and Settlement (FindLaw's Celebrity Justice)
- Can Kendall and Kylie Jenner Really Trademark Their Names? (FindLaw's Celebrity Justice)
