When did we lose sight of what our legal system is for? Never mind, if you don?t have lots of money or time, you can?t get involved in the legal system anyway. Of course, it?s also worth noting that a graphics company in Florida appears to have filed for a trademark on ?Aha moment? when used on clothing well before either Oprah or Mutual of Omaha. Of course, it’s also worth noting that a graphics company in Florida appears to have filed for a trademark on “Aha moment” when used on clothing well before either Oprah or Mutual of Omaha.Įither way, this should be yet another “aha moment” of how companies are using things like trademark law to tie up and limit language, which is not (at all) it’s original intended purpose.įiled Under: aha moment, oprah, trademarkĬompanies: harpo productions, mutual of omaha The two sides have now “settled,” but this conceivably means that anyone else who uses the phrase in areas that potentially compete with Oprah or Mutual of Omaha might find themselves in trouble as well. While none of the press reports seem to point this out, it appears that Oprah had not trademarked the phrase herself, though, she did finally apply for the trademark on “aha moment” in June of this year (nearly a year after Mutual of Omaha’s application. Oprah/Harpo didn’t object to the original trademark application, though they later found out about it and legal proceedings began. Mutual of Omaha came up with a marketing campaign around “official sponsor of the aha moment” and attempted to trademark the phrase. Apparently Winfrey regularly uses the phrase “an aha moment” on her television program. Reader Trails writes in with news of the latest ridiculousness from the world of trademark law, where Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and insurance giant Mutual of Omaha got into a bit of a spat over the term “aha moment,” with both companies claiming rights over the phrase. Tue, Nov 10th 2009 10:14am - Mike Masnick
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