Los Angeles attorney Larry Zerner hit back at the Obamas after Higher Ground Productions, the couple's movie production company, attempted to cancel the trademark registration for his client's company, Higher Ground Enterprises.

"The Obamas have known for almost a year that their Higher Ground trademark application was rejected by the USPTO because it infringed my client's rights," Zerner told the The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday. "Instead, of simply picking another name, the Obamas' lawyers have now filed a meritless petition to cancel my client's trademark so they can take it for themselves. This is really deplorable behavior. I hope that the Obamas realize that these actions are not consistent with the values they preach and that they instruct their attorneys to immediately dismiss the petition."

The U.S. Trademark Office rejected the Obamas' attempt to trademark their production company earlier this year because of the trademark held prior by Hanisya Massey, who runs Higher Ground Enterprises.

In response, the Obamas' attorney then filed a petition to cancel the trademark claiming the production company was not in use when the trademark was filed.

In May 2018, the Obamas signed a deal with streaming giant Netflix, which included American Factory as their first production release in August.