Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Nintendo Seeks To Trademarks "It's On Like Donkey Kong"

Posted by samzenpus on from the language-pitfall dept.

eldavojohn writes "Nintendo has requested a trademark on the phrase 'It's on like Donkey Kong.' The phrase has been used in everything from rap to television in modern culture. From the article: 'The makers of the classic video-game franchise have filed a request with the US Patent and Trademark office to trademark the pop-culture phrase, "It's on like Donkey Kong." Nintendo claims that the catchphrase "is an old, popular Nintendo phrase that has a number of possible interpretations depending on how it's used."'"

43 of 183 comments (clear)

  1. Man... by Haedrian · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...this article is on Like Donkey Kong. (TM)

    1. Re:Man... by zero_out · · Score: 4, Funny

      You know, in all the DK games I've ever played, and cartoons I've watched, I never noticed if he had any genitalia. I've never looked for it, so it very well may be there, but if it's not... care to retract your statement?

    2. Re:Man... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      ...an adult gorilla's erect penis size is about 4cm in length

      From Wikipedia.

    3. Re:Man... by Tr3vin · · Score: 2, Funny

      Who the hell goes around measuring that type of stuff?!

    4. Re:Man... by Pojut · · Score: 3, Funny

      "This article is baller like Samus."
      "Damn, that was cold. Cold like Ice Climbers."
      "The name is Hare. Peppy Hare. I take it barrelled, not rolled."

      --
      Living With a Nerd
    5. Re:Man... by Hope+Thelps · · Score: 5, Funny

      "...an adult gorilla's erect penis size is about 4cm in length"

      From Wikipedia [wikipedia.org].

      Who the hell goes around measuring that type of stuff?!

      Insecure gorillas.

      --
      To summarise the summary of the summary: people are a problem. ~ h2g2
    6. Re:Man... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Your mother.

    7. Re:Man... by master5o1 · · Score: 2, Funny

      That's SCIENCE! Bitches!

      --
      signature is pants
    8. Re:Man... by AlamedaStone · · Score: 2

      Actually, gorillas (like most other primates) have relatively small genitalia. Humans are an exception - at least, some of them are.

      Blame our big brains.

      No, seriously. At birth we have pretty honkin' big noggins. A larger, more resilient birth canal is required. That will tend to select for more generous male genitalia, female orgasms being a factor in successful impregnation.

      Science!

      (Okay, I kinda made all that up - but it's a good hypothesis...)

      --
      "All these years believing you're the signified monkey, only to find out you're just a big hunk of nobody cares."
    9. Re:Man... by TheLink · · Score: 2, Funny

      You know, in all the DK games I've ever played, and cartoons I've watched, I never noticed if he had any genitalia. I've never looked for it, so it very well may be there, but if it's not... care to retract your statement?

      Retract his statement? If he's telling the truth, he's already got "full retraction" where it counts, what more do you want?

      --
  2. Up next.... by girlintraining · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "I Nintendo'd that shit." -- Used to describe an act where you alienate people that previously liked you for a really, really stupid reason.

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    1. Re:Up next.... by jornak · · Score: 4, Interesting

      To be fair, it does include the name of a game that was copyrighted in 1981, and it was even contested and won against Universal City Studios because it was too close to King Kong.

    2. Re:Up next.... by mweather · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's a reason to disallow other people from trademarking it, not a reason to allow a phrase that's been in use for decades to be trademarked by a company that didn't even coin the phrase.

    3. Re:Up next.... by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Synonym ... "I Oracled that shit"

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    4. Re:Up next.... by operagost · · Score: 2, Informative

      Let's try to set this straight: it was Universal that sued Nintendo with the "King Kong" claim. Nintendo won because Universal didn't hold the copyight on the "King Kong" story. Universal was guilty of a string of SCO-like stupidities in this case, most significantly that they'd THEMSELVES already proven seven years earlier than the plot for "King Kong" was in the public domain.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  3. Will this pass muster? by schizz69 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I mean, can they really claim patent for a phrase that has millions of instances of prior use? IANAL, but surely they cant then start claiming royalties from the use of this phrase in current and future media? that would be like patenting the phrase 'how you doin'

    1. Re:Will this pass muster? by thepike · · Score: 4, Informative

      Donald Trump tried to patent "you're fired," so there's precedent for trying. He failed though (luckily) and I have to assume Nintendo will fail too. Also, I'd keep using it and not paying them royalties so it would really only affect print usage, and I doubt it's a common phrase in the Times.

    2. Re:Will this pass muster? by 19061969 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      They're applying for a trademark rather than a patent so prior use is a little different here. I'm sure someone with greater knowledge of US trademark law will enlighten us, but I seem to recall that it is possible to trademark something that's been used (e.g., "Linux" was trademarked by Linus Torvalds back in the 1990s after someone else was using it for their business and he wanted it to be a protected phrase - this is AFAIR so I could be wrong).

      --
      bang goes my karma... again...
    3. Re:Will this pass muster? by Anon-Admin · · Score: 5, Informative

      On the 15 of August 1994, William R. Della Croce, Jr. filed for the trademark Linux, and then demanded royalties from Linux distributors.
      In 1996, Torvalds and some affected organizations sued him to have the trademark assigned to Torvalds, and in 1997 the case was settled.

      There is precedent for trademarking a name after it's use and using it to extort^h^h^h^h^h^h require licensing fees.

    4. Re:Will this pass muster? by StikyPad · · Score: 2, Funny

      I sort of wish he had succeeded, if only so I could turn in my old boss for infringement. :(

      --
      https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
  4. Nintendo by Zaphod+The+42nd · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Did Nintendo themselves ever actually use the phrase? I thought it was just a pop culture reference kinda thing, never a part of the actual franchise. >_>
    I call shenanigans.

    TFA says they're using it now to promote the new donkey kong country, but it seems like they're taking a phrase that the public created that is in the public domain and are trying to claim it as theirs.

    --
    GCS/MU/P d- s:- a-- C++++$ UL++ P+ L++ E+ W++ N o K- w--- O M+ V- PS+++ PE Y+ PGP t+ 5- X R++ tv+ b++ DI++ D++ G+ e++ h-
    1. Re:Nintendo by Captain+Spam · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Did Nintendo themselves ever actually use the phrase? I thought it was just a pop culture reference kinda thing, never a part of the actual franchise. >_>

      I call shenanigans.

      TFA says they're using it now to promote the new donkey kong country, but it seems like they're taking a phrase that the public created that is in the public domain and are trying to claim it as theirs.

      Of course, it could also be as simple as someone in marketing deciding to use the phrase in advertisements (as a pop culture reference and nothing more), and the legal team, entirely by force of habit, attempting to trademark every last letter on the advertisement copy on a just-in-case-it-works basis.

      I'll grant that Nintendo's tried pulling trademark/copyright nonsense like this before (and were almost victims of it in the famous Universal case regarding Donkey Kong itself), but something tells me this was an overzealous lawyer deluging the trademark office with the standard-issue forest of paperwork when a new game is released, expecting the trademark office to do the fact-checking for him. Or failing that, to get a few bonus trademarks and maybe another raise if they're not paying attention.

      I say give it time to see how it pans out before we go... well, apeshit, appropriately.

      --
      Demanding constant attention will only lead to attention.
    2. Re:Nintendo by Un+pobre+guey · · Score: 2, Insightful

      IANAL, but I think you are mistaken on a technicality. You may be correct insofar as registering a trademark, but to defend it in court against infringers is different. In court, Nintendo would have to show that it has zealously defended its trademark, and if the phrase is well-established in the wild then that test is likely to fail. I would assume that they are registering in order to exterminate unauthorized use with the hope that cease-and-desist letters will be enough, and nobody with deep pockets and an itch to fight will stand up to them.

    3. Re:Nintendo by ashidosan · · Score: 2, Informative

      Can't Ice Cube claim prior art with his 1992 song, "Now I Gotta Wet'cha?" The opening lyric is "It's on like Donkey Kong." I'm sure Cube would be willing to license his copyrighted lyrics to Nintendo, if they just asked.

  5. What do they gain? by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Don't you normally trademark something so that other people can't impersonate your work to give it a bad rep or something?

    What does Nintendo have to gain by trademarking this phrase?

  6. I feel an unfortunate engrish incident coming on.. by Statecraftsman · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dear Nintendo,

    Congratulations, your request for trademark of the phrase "It's on rike Donkey Kong" has been approved.

    Sincerely,

    The Trademark Office

  7. Re:Given the current dearth of Kong... by olsmeister · · Score: 2, Informative

    TFA mentions that there is a new game being released on 11/21, Donkey Kong Country Returns.

  8. Re:I feel an unfortunate engrish incident coming o by argmanah · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dear Nintendo, Congratulations, your request for trademark of the phrase "It's on rike Donkey Kong" has been approved. Sincerely, The Trademark Office

    I find your comment to be lacist.

    --
    Overrated Moderation: This posts sucks... because.
  9. Re:Given the current dearth of Kong... by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 3, Funny

    "In the barrio like Mario"?

    "Goin' to Fiji like Louigi"?

  10. Identifying a Product by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If "On like Donkey Kong" was a phrase used to market a game that consumers though was the Nintendo property, there might be a case here. That is the only test that is used to determine whether a phrase or symbol infringes a trademark.

    Corporations who frivolously try to grab intellectual "property" like this should have to pay the government fees for using up taxpayer funded resources.

    --

    --
    make install -not war

    1. Re:Identifying a Product by damien_kane · · Score: 3, Informative

      If "On like Donkey Kong" was a phrase used to market a game that consumers though was the Nintendo property, there might be a case here. That is the only test that is used to determine whether a phrase or symbol infringes a trademark.

      Corporations who frivolously try to grab intellectual "property" like this should have to pay the government fees for using up taxpayer funded resources.

      It is;
      From TFA, it's the phrase they're using to promote the newest incarnation of Donkey Kong Country for the Wii, which releases 11/21.

  11. *Do* trademarks work that way? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Indeed...

    My understanding of copyright/patent/trademark laws is quite weak but I've always thought that you register trademarks in a limited scope. For example, if a software company trademarks the word "Explorer", some ship manufacturer could still also trademark "Explorer" because it is clear that the Explorer (tm) ships are different from the Explorer (tm) software.

    How does that work when it comes to expressions like this one?

  12. Next up by Nidi62 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Barbara Streisand files for trademark over the use of "Streisand Effect"

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    1. Re:Next up by damien_kane · · Score: 3, Informative

      Barbara Streisand files for trademark over the use of "Streisand Effect"

      I'm pretty sure, if she ever tried that, that Robert Smith and Syndey Poitier would beat her in a match of mecha-ro-sham-bo

  13. Re:I feel an unfortunate engrish incident coming o by Applekid · · Score: 4, Funny

    As in weally wacist.

    --
    More Twoson than Cupertino
  14. You know what th by John+Whorfin · · Score: 2, Funny

    This sounds like the real deal Holyfield...

  15. It's On Like Donkey Kong. by It'sOnLikeDonkeyKong · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's On Like Donkey Kong in all fields.

  16. Re:Doesn't rhyme: Perhaps Donkey Con? by east+coast · · Score: 2, Funny

    Khhhhhhhaaaaaaannnnnnn!

    --
    Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
  17. Re:King Kong by lennier1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's not that unusual.
    The Star Destroyer crashed in the "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" trailer was a fan art 3D model a fan had created and then released online. The model was published under the explicit requirement that it was only to be used for non-commercial purposes.
    Of course that was ignored, just like it was ignored when another model by the same fan was used for the second Family Guy Star Wars special.
    In both cases it was easy to identify, since the surface detailing included patterns which differed from all filming models.

  18. Cheap Advertising? by Surak_Prime · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How much does it cost to try to file for a trademark like this?

    How much free advertising is Nintendo getting for their upcoming DK sequel from various news outlets for *trying* to?

    Does anyone think Nintendo even *cares* if they get the trademark or not?

    --
    :::The Spear in the heart of the Other is the Spear in the heart of You; You are He - Surak of Vulcan:::
  19. Unrelated, mostly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm gonna bonk her like Conker!

  20. Likelihood of confusion by Infonaut · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That's the bedrock of trademark law. Here's a classic example from my neck of the woods: A little organic fast-food place called "McDharma's" was sued by McDonald's. McDonald's successfully argued that visitors might be confused and think that because of the "Mc" appelation and the fact that the place served fast food, consumers would potentially be unsure as to whether it was associated with McDonald's or not. Furthermore, if McDharma's made boatloads of money by trading on this confusion, they would be running afoul of trademark law, which is designed to protect consumers from unscrupulous businesscritters.

    When someone uses the phrase "It's on like Donkey Kong," there isn't any confusion about what we're talking about. Has anyone else used it in commerce? I don't know of any examples where they have. So Nintendo might be able to trademark this one, as counterintuitive as it sounds. You and I can say "It's on like Donkey Kong" until the cows come home. We can write it, make fun of it, etc., just like we do with any other corporate tagline. We just can't use it to sell something else that is confusingly similar to Donkey Kong.

    --
    Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
  21. Trademark dilution by tepples · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Trademarks are divided into categories. When you register a trademark, you have to specify which category you're trademarking it in.

    But once your trademark becomes sufficiently famous, you can enforce it against other categories because they're assumed to be merchandising.