Posted on 04/05/2002 6:16:16 AM PST by jwalburg
CHICAGO - KRT NEWSFEATURES
(KRT) - For a nation stunned by the massive terrorism of Sept. 11, words failed.
Perhaps that is why one short, brave phrase rang out with such life-affirming clarity.
"Let's roll."
But now that simple phrase turned national rallying cry is mired in murky legal territory.
The phrase is at the center of a tangle of trademark disputes, with more than a dozen applicants trying to win rights to "Let's roll" for various products.
At issue is who should be able to make money off the phrase.
Only the non-profit charity founded in Todd Beamer's name? The marketers and fundraisers of all stripes who are plastering the phrase on hats and T-shirts, mugs and bumper stickers? Something in between?
"Let's roll," as just about every American knows by now, were the last words a telephone operator heard New Jersey businessman Beamer utter before he and his fellow passengers apparently took on the hijackers aboard United Airlines' doomed Flight 93.
Though everyone aboard was killed when the plane went down in a Pennsylvania field, the consensus is that Beamer and some fellow passengers saved an untold number of lives by thwarting the terrorists' presumed attempt to fly into a populated target in Washington, D.C.
"Let's roll" registered right away with Beamer's widow, Lisa. It is what he used to tell their two young sons while getting ready to go someplace.
What had been a suburban dad's way of saying "let's go" became something much bigger, something people needed: a way to signal the country's resolve.
President Bush invokes it in speeches. The Air Force put it on the nose of some of its planes.
Those kinds of things are more than fine with the non-profit Todd M. Beamer Foundation, according to Paul Kennedy, the Philadelphia trademark attorney representing the charity pro bono.
The foundation was created to help, among others, the children who lost parents on Sept. 11. Lisa Beamer has specified that no foundation money will go to her children.
"I think `Let's roll' became instantly famous, inextricably linked to Todd Beamer," Kennedy said. Inextricably linked counts in trademark law; think "Just Do It" and Nike.
What the Beamer foundation wants to control, Kennedy said, is the commercial application of "Let's roll," at least when it is used in reference to Sept. 11 and Beamer.
That means T-shirt manufacturers and the like, but also other non-profits. To use "Let's roll," the non-profits would have to get permission from the Beamer Foundation, and send in a portion of their profits. If, that is, the foundation prevails
Others have protested the foundation's effort to exert that level of control, saying such a common phrase, even in its narrower Sept. 11 sense, shouldn't belong to one group.
Of course, trademark law turns less on philosophical issues than on a basic rule of U.S. commerce.
"The purpose of trademark law is to avoid confusing the public as to the sources of products and services," said E. Leonard Rubin, a Chicago trademark attorney who is not involved in the "Let's roll" dispute.
"It's that simple: avoiding confusion in the marketplace."
For example, Rubin said, you can't control the use of "Where's the beef?" in all settings. But if the phrase is closely associated with your hamburger chain, you probably can keep your direct competitors from cashing in on it.
And that's where "Let's roll" has lawyers and others debating whether the Beamer Foundation will win trademark protection and, if it does, how much.
"Even if the Beamer Foundation is able to get a trademark registration for `Let's roll' for the foundation (fundraising) purposes, "Rubin said, "that would not necessarily prevent car dealers from using the mark for selling cars unless they somehow try to indicate they were connected with the Todd Beamer association."
It likely will be months before the current trademark cases are decided, to say nothing of others that might arise over such a popular phrase. In the meantime, all kinds of people drawn to "Let's roll," especially in the Sept. 11 sense, now find themselves wondering if they can use it.
That goes even for a Chicago bicycling club. Its members recently found themselves debating whether to put "Let's roll" on the team jerseys designed for their annual bike ride across Iowa this July.
"We thought it would be good to have a patriotic theme this year, as most Americans want to do," said Jerry Turry, president of the non-profit Chicago Urban Bicycling Society.
He was stunned when several attorneys in the group questioned whether the cyclists might get in trouble for using the phrase.
"I'm just an average guy but I think it's ridiculous," Turry said. "I think it's part of the American language. I can't imagine how lawyers could argue it's trademarkable."
After considerable back and forth, the group decided to go ahead with the jerseys. They are not being sold to make money; the 56 members of the group pay $65 each for the uniforms.
"We thought the worst-case scenario is we'd get a cease-and-desist letter," Turry said. "And we'd cease and desist."
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© 2002, Chicago Tribune.
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Error of law. For trademark rights, the mark must be linked to the provision of goods or services, not just associated with a person.
What the Beamer foundation wants to control, Kennedy said, is the commercial application of "Let's roll," at least when it is used in reference to Sept. 11 and Beamer....That means T-shirt manufacturers and the like, but also other non-profits. To use "Let's roll," the non-profits would have to get permission from the Beamer Foundation, and send in a portion of their profits.
Error of fact. The Beamer Foundation applied to register the mark solely for charitable fundraising services, and not for any other goods or services.
That goes even for a Chicago bicycling club. Its members recently found themselves debating whether to put "Let's roll" on the team jerseys ... several attorneys in the group questioned whether the cyclists might get in trouble for using the phrase.
Those attorneys are clearly not competent in trademark law.
And to those who object even to Mrs. Beamer seeking to protect the phrase for the foundation: would you be happier if many other fundraising organizations popped up to try to confuse donors, and sapped the donations from Lisa's efforts to help the orphaned children?
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