September 8th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
I just read that Paris Hilton owns the US patent to “That’s Hot” and it was officially registered this year in February. I am not a patent law expert but does that mean that she has the right to sue anyone and everyone who writes and says the phrase?
She has already started suing Hallmark Cards for using her picture and catchphrase in a parody online card. The lawsuit claims “commercial appropriation of identity, invasion of privacy, misappropriation of publicity, false representation that Hilton endorses the product, and infringement of a federally registered trademark”. Terms of the suit have not been specified.
What I can’t understand is how she could patent a common English phrase that is used by almost everyone. How did she go about proving to the US Patent Office that it is her own coined phrase? I guess money talks, as her expensive lawyers might have found a loophole to make it a successful registration. I can easily say “That’s Hot” for a cup of coffee that I just made — does that mean that I can get potentially get sued for that too?
If someone has a legal explanation on how she could have patented the phrase and how it is applied, please feel free to enlighten me on it. Till then, I think that the US Patent Office might have made a blunder on this as it goes against the very reason why we have a legal office i.e. to administer and filter out applications of patents that aren’t legit or/and improper. I also went to the USPTO site and can’t seem to find that patent anywhere. Maybe I am looking in the wrong place but I can find everything under the sun relating to “hot” except hers.
2 Responses to “Watch out when you say “That’s Hot””
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ronnie said: @ 10:31 pm
September 8th, 2007
well, she could probably sue anyone who attempts to claim ownership of that phrase. *lol
kindly pay me a visit, thanks ->here “non-senses”
CatherineL said: @ 11:05 pm
September 9th, 2007
That is totally ridiculous. I really wish they would stop people from patenting words and phrases from the dictionary. I thought it was bad enough that Entrepreneur magazine were able to trademark the word Entrepreneur, but this takes the biscuit.