Image via the Times-Union
The last two letters and the colours are the same. There is also a giant exclamation point.
But are they the same?
Apparently for attorney Wiley Horton, the Tallahassee lawyer working for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), the logos are identical and Florida Senate candidate Deborah Gianoulis (D) is guilty of violating a federal trademark by using the red-and-white “Deb!†logo for her campaign.
“Jeb!†is the trademark registered to former Gov. Bush (trademark # 2,826,942.)
Image via the Times-Union
Horton told local Jacksonville newspaper, the Times-Union, on Wednesday October 13, 2010, one of Bush’s former foundations contacted him and asked that he intervene because Jeb Bush supports Gianoulis’ opponent, incumbent John Thrasher.
After Horton sent the cease-and-desist letter to the Gianoulis campaign, they have since stopped using the logo.
Jeb Bush actually used the “Jeb!†logo on his campaign trail during in 1994, 1998 and 2002.
However, people, after all, do call Gianoulis, “Deb,†considering her first name is “Deborah.â€
In 1996, during his failed bid for President of the United States, current US Senator Lamar Alexander (R) from Tennessee used a similar logo that said “Lamar!†in red-and-white, too.
Image via the Times-Union
Most recently during the 2008 Presidential elections, while, former Gov. Sarah Palin (R) was walking around saying, “Drill, Baby, Drill!†in support of off-shore drilling. At the rallies for Vice-President Joe Biden, when his wife Dr. Jill Biden would take the stage, she was greeted with, “Jill, Baby, Jill!â€
The question is, down to the font, colour and all the other details that made a trademark a trademark – is Gianoulis really infringing on Bush’s logo?
Or are we talking very dirty, politics?
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Sasha Muradali runs the Little Pink Book. She holds a B.S. in Public Relations from the University of Florida with a minor in Dance (’07) and an M.A. in International Administration from the University of Miami (’08). She loves Twitter and all things social media, so you should find her @SashaHalima or get a copy of the Little Pink Book delivered to your Kindle.
Copyright © 2009-2010 Sasha H. Muradali. All Rights Reserved.
