Will Wyeth Sue The Republican Party?
7 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // May 19th, 2008 // 8:02 am
Last week, the Republicans in Washington rolled out a new slogan which, at first blush, may have sounded clever, because it took a poke at Barack Obama. The slogan? ‘The Change You Deserve.’ Almost immediately, though, the effort was ridiculed. That’s because the slogan has been used by Wyeth to promote its Effexor antidepressant, and it appears to have been trademarked.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, declared that “Democrats, not drugs, is what the American people need.” The slogan, he added, has side effects and “can make you sick. 82 percent of Americans have indicated they are sick and tired of the policies that have been pursued by the Bush-Boehner administration.” House Minority Leader John Boehner, a Louisiana Republican, unveiled the slogan.
As you know, companies strongly believe in defending their trademarks and copyrights, no matter what. Johnson & Johnson, for instance, recently exemplified that stance by suing the American Red Cross for violating its trademark and arguing the relief agency was barred from using the symbol for commercial purposes, although a federal judge disagreed.
So will Wyeth contact the Republicans about this faux pas? We wrote a note to a Wyeth spokesman and will let you know what, if any, reply is received. Recent data, by the way, indicates the drugmaker has supported both Republicans and Democrats fairly evenly. But what do you think?
Should Garino have disclosed the payments to the patient?
- Yes (91%, 102 Votes)
- No (10%, 11 Votes)
Total Voters: 112
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Sean
This is priceless. Actually, maybe the Republicans can use that slogan too. Priceless.
Matthew Holford
LMFAO. This looks very much like the tagline used by a company that was running a NLP Practitioner course that I went on. The company, Inner Compass, subsequently went into receivership, but its tag was “Create the life you deserve”! Perhaps the Republicans wouldn’t want to use that line, because of the risk that everybody would realize that they already have!
Matt
Sean
“Rich & White Only Need Apply”
Just A Thought
Comical as this may be, I hate the idea of people being able to trademark common language like this and “You’re Fired!”
It’s ludicrous.
Oh crap! now I have to watch for Christopher Brian Bridges (rapper/actor Ludacris) who may come and pop a cap in my… butt.
Dan
Bruce Springsteen was pissed that Reagan used his, “Born in the USA”, song during his campaign, which the lyrics were in opposition to his objective. Moron.
Paul
The problem is what change are they talking about? As far as the eye can see, everything republican is the same all over again. No, we don’t deserve the “change” they represent.
Just A Thought
Do you voters ‘in favor’ really like the trademarking of common language? Scary stuff folks. Doesn’t matter which side of the fence you’re on. It’s chiseling at the first amendment.