College Roommates File Application To Trademark The Phrase "Kony 2012" Share

Tweet



The “Kony 2012” phenomenon has prompted a pair of college roommates to file an application seeking to trademark the phrase, records show.

In a March 9 United States Patent and Trademark Office filing, Clement Lee seeks to secure the mark for use on books, pamphlets, and posters.

Lee, a 19-year-old University of Connecticut sophomore, told TSG that he made the trademark application with his UConn roommate/partner, with whom he split the $275 USPTO filing fee.

The economics major added that he and his roommate intended to seek a trademark application for “Kony 2012” garments, like t-shirts, when they had funds for a second trademark application.

Lee said that he and his partner, a business major, had designed and ordered a “Kony 2012” t-shirt, but that it would not be available for purchase for a few weeks.

Pictured at left, Lee said that he and his partner are seeking the mark for “protection,” and that their “small company” intended to share profits from “Kony 2012” products with Invisible Children, the not-for-profit group that produced the 30-minute video about Joseph Kony, the Ugandan warlord who heads the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Lee said that he and his roommate thought it would “be good to try and make some money and support the cause too.”