Eminem files objection to trademark of ‘Reasonably Shady’ podcast name
Rapper Marshall “Eminem” Mathers is on a legal mission to prove that he’s The Real Slim Shady after “Real Housewives of Potomac” stars Dixon and Bryant attempted to trademark “Reasonably Shady” – the title of their hit podcast.
by Timothy Geigner from Tech Dirt
And if that title didn’t really confuse you all that much, then you’ve managed to get the point. Eminem hasn’t been shy about asserting his intellectual property rights in the past, though much of his efforts on that front have actually been to the benefit of artists from his fights with record labels. That doesn’t mean that Em’s team isn’t capable of some IP missteps, however.
And we appear to have an example of such a misstep. See, Eminem’s legal team has filed an opposition to a trademark application for a podcast hosted by 2 reality show participants titled “Reasonably Shady.”
Rapper Marshall “Eminem” Mathers is on a legal mission to prove he’s the real Shady after “Real Housewives of Potomac” stars Dixon and Bryant attempted to trademark “Reasonably Shady” – the title of their hit podcast – last year.
A lawyer for Dixon and Bryant told The Times on Tuesday that the reality-TV duo intend “to defend their trademark application” despite the “Real Slim Shady” artist’s motion to block it.
Let’s not mince words: this is stupid. Let’s also be clear and fair to Eminem: the trademark application seeks approval not just for the podcast, but also for your typical merch categories. These include clothing, drink containers, accessories, makeup, etc. And I don’t even need to go look to verify that Eminem has all kinds of trademarks for all his various monikers for many, if not all, of those categories.
But it’s still stupid. The inclusion of the word “shady” does not in and of itself mean that there is real or potential public confusion over the source of any goods. Slim doesn’t own every iteration of the word “shady” when it comes to trademarks in those categories. And “Reasonably Shady” is a pretty good deviation from “Slim Shady” or “Shady” for a variety of reasons. If nothing else, Em is using the term as a noun, as in his nom de guerre, whereas the lovely Housewives ladies are using it as an adjective. Beyond that, the details of the branding matter and I don’t seen anything that would lead me to think that the general public is automatically going to assume that Eminem is involved simply because the word “shady” appears.
In Tuesday’s filing, Team Mathers points out that Eminem has long used the marks Shady, Slim Shady and Shady Limited to peddle merchandise such as T-shirts and baseball caps.
“The marks SLIM SHADY, SHADY and SHADY LIMITED have become unique and are identified by the general public solely with [Mathers] and his goods and services,” the filing states.
That sure will be news to all the other folks using the word “shady” as registered trademarks in these categories. Just to pick out one example, here is the live trademark for “Shady Days Hats.” Why is that one less offensive than “Reasonably Shady”? Who the hell knows!
But what I do know is that this is all very silly. Eminem is an immensely talented artist and businessman. That’s where his efforts should be focused, rather than trying to tell some “real” housewives what they can put on a coffee mug.
