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this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2024
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I think the Funko-pops are actually a good example of why they need to protect the trademark. What if the estate does want to start marketing wing sauces? What if they want to sponsor a hot wing eating contest? Or host an aerial stunt show? Would they need to split the proceeds with the guy who owns the food truck?
All of these ideas are stupid, and would cheapen the brand, but it's their brand. If they don't defend it, it makes future protections harder. If they don't fight Lord of the Wings, what about Lord of the Strings? Lord of the Springs? Slings? Things? Blings?
Brand dilution isn't just about the one narrow use case.
I agree that the Funko Pop example cheapens their property. Doesn't seem that they care.
And of course it's not about just one wing truck. Estates like these are not innovating and are not holding air shows or wing competitions. And unless they're stealing trade secrets of making wing sauces or the intricacies of hosting aerial events, I say let the estate compete in those areas or even choose to sponsor these already established entities who've entered the market before the estate did anything with their IP.
But that's my point. If Tolkien's great grandchildren want to sell hot wing sauce some day, they shouldn't have to fight some guy with a food truck because "he thought of it first." Branding is the opposite of a trade secret, and there's no free market solution to competition for a name. Trademarks must be defended in court, or you lose them.
That's why I said it would be a better argument if it were "Lord of Wings" because it conveys almost exactly the same sentiment that the owner is claiming to want to convey, and removing the "the" from the title changes the cadence and format of the title, further separating it from existing IP.