A few weeks ago Higher Ground Productions filed a petition to cancel Ms. Massey’s trademark. Rebecca Tushnet, a Harvard Law School professor and an expert in intellectual property law, said in an interview that the goal of this move would be to determine whether Ms. Massey is actively and regularly using the trademark to conduct business. The Obamas’ filing starts a fact-intensive inquiry that could take years to sort out.

“If there’s not sufficient use of the mark, then the registrant has no rights and the Obamas can go ahead,” Ms. Tushnet said. If there is sufficient use, she added, Ms. Massey could have a potential trademark infringement claim.

As for Ms. Massey’s request for roles in the Obamas’ productions, it isn’t exactly typical in trademark cases, Ms. Tushnet said in an email. “I can’t say I’m super surprised given the context (where she might have greater than usual leverage in seeking a role she might otherwise not be able to get),” she wrote. “Nor am I surprised that it wasn’t an acceptable term to the Obamas given the interference with creative control it would mean and given the lack of any apparent relationship between that condition and the rights to use the trademark.”

“Some judges might feel it’s kind of tacky,” she added, “but it doesn’t affect the legal question of who has the right to the mark.”