 | « Back to article | Print this article |
The Walt Disney company has withdrawn its application to trademark the term 'SEAL Team 6', on its toys, games and a TV show, to apparently cash in on the elite unit that killed Osama bin Laden after US Navy declared it would protect its rights.
The move by the entertainment giant to file a trademark application came two days after Abbottabad raid, but it ran into a wave of criticism and late-night jibes in Tv shows.
The company said it was withdrawing its application with the US Patent and Trademark Office "out of deference to the Navy's application" for these trademarks.
On May 3, Disney had filed an application requesting exclusive rights to the use of term 'SEAL Team 6' on a variety of products including hand-held units for playing electronic games, Christmas stockings, Christmas tree ornaments, decorations and snow globes, except clothing.
The company was also planning to produce a TV show for its ABC subsidiary, based on the elite Navy seals.
On May 13, the Navy fired back at Disney by filing an application for trademarks on the phrases 'Seal Team' and 'Navy SEALS'.
Those phrases denote "membership in an organisation of the Department of the Navy that develops and executes military missions involving special operations strategy, doctrine and tactics," the Navy said in its filings.
"We are fully committed to protecting our trademark rights," chief Navy spokesman Commander Danny Hernandez said. The California-based company drew criticism for its move to trademark the term, with critics saying it was trying to profit off bin Laden's killing."
Putting a trademark on SEAL Team 6 is like copyrighting 'The guys who stormed the beach at Normandy,'" joked The Daily Show host Jon Stewart last week.
