3 different applications filed seeking to trademark ‘El Paso Strong’
“El Paso Strong” has become synonymous with the resiliency of the city in the wake of the Aug. 3 mass shooting. Those three words appear on shirts, logos, murals and more.
But now ABC-7 has learned that three trademark applications have been filed for that phrase.
Wayne Pritchard, a patent and trademark lawyer for 30 years, says he thinks it will be challenging for anyone to convince the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to approve such a request.
“The examiner’s going to want to know how does this associate itself with one single company, as opposed to the entire population in El Paso,” he said.
The fist trademark application was filed just three days after the shooting by MoutainStar Sports, the ownership group for the El Pas Chihuahuas and Locomotive FC. Their request seeks to trademark a logo containing the words “El Paso Strong.”
“For us, it wasn’t about owning El Paso Strong,” but rather protecting the design of our uniform patch, said MountainStar’s senior vice president Brad Taylor.
“There are others out there that would take advantage of situations like this… and we just wanted to make sure that at least that patch, if it was going to get reproduced, put on a sweatshirt or a t-shirt — we had the legitimate rights to say ‘stop,’ the money that’s raised from that needs to go to these families.”
GECU filed the second application two days later, requesting a trademark on the actual phrase “El Paso Strong.”
In a statement, the locally-owned financial institution said: “GECU’s sole purpose of the trademark application is to protect ‘El Paso Strong’ for use in our community for charitable giving, philanthropy, and corporate responsibility. We thought that it was important to step up to protect the phrase for those charitable purposes.”
The third request came from an individual, Susana Rubio, who wants to use the language “El Paso Strong” on gifts and souvenirs. She declined to answer questions about her application.
Pritchard said it could take the patent office up to a year to accept or deny these requests. Unless or until it makes a decision otherwise, “El Paso Strong” can continue to be used by everyone.
