John: the brothers will not trademark 'Don't Forget to Be Awesome' (2013)
promise · status: standing commitment (last affirmed 2019) · last event: progress update (2019-11-19) · owner: John
John's December 2013 promise that the brothers would not trademark 'Don't Forget to Be Awesome', because the phrase belongs to Nerdfighteria; in November 2019 he said they had never trademarked the phrase or DFTBA.
About: DFTBA, trademark
| date | event | what | video |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-12-03 | promised | John says the brothers aren't going to trademark 'Don't Forget to Be Awesome', because it would claim ownership of something that isn't really theirs. | Who Owns DFTBA? An Introduction to Trademarks 00:02:11 |
| 2019-11-19 | progress update | John says this is why he and Hank have never trademarked 'Don't forget to be awesome' or DFTBA. | Kylie Jenner Shows Me What's Wrong with Reddit 00:03:15 |
What is said about it
5 statements, by date (the events above are the turns of the thread; these are the details).
- 2013-12-03 · Who Owns DFTBA? An Introduction to Trademarks — John: Because the phrase is closely associated with them, John says the brothers could easily hire a lawyer, trademark it and send Urban Outfitters a cease-and-desist letter. — 00:00:44
- 2013-12-03 · Who Owns DFTBA? An Introduction to Trademarks — John explains that trademarks cannot be enforced selectively: trademarking DFTBA would mean telling everyone to stop, including Nerdfighters who make and sell things on Etsy. — 00:01:15
- 2013-12-03 · Who Owns DFTBA? An Introduction to Trademarks — John: If enforced selectively, companies could argue the phrase isn't really trademarked, so stopping Urban Outfitters' rugs would mean also stopping Nerdfighters' scarves, which John calls bananas. — 00:01:46
- 2013-12-03 · Who Owns DFTBA? An Introduction to Trademarks — John explains that a trademark weakened by widespread use can become genericized, every brand's nightmare. — 00:02:39
- 2019-11-19 · Kylie Jenner Shows Me What's Wrong with Reddit — John says a trademark holder may not enforce it selectively and must enforce it, or lose the trademark. — 00:03:06