Plenty of films gain widespread attention once they hit the box office. However, few garner that attention in the same way that “Sound of Freedom” did. While the movie may have initially gotten noticed due to its underlying political message, it’s currently in the news due to an emerging trademark dispute revolving around who can use the film’s title.

In July 2023, DN Marks LLC filed a trademark application seeking rights over “Sound of Freedom” in regard to graphic novels, film production, celebrity appearances, and other goods and services. Almost exactly one year later, Sound of Freedom Movie LLC filed a similar application seeking trademark rights over the title for film production only.

As if the film didn’t generate enough controversy, this dispute looks like it could get messy.

The Battle for the ‘Sound of Freedom’ Trademark

While sound of Freedom Movie, LLC took nearly a year after the release of the film to file a trademark application with the USPTO, it recently filed a trademark opposition against the “Sound of Freedom” trademark application by DN Marks LLC so it appears they are serious about their effort.

Of course, this raises the question of who DN Marks LLC is and who it represents. A cursory trademark search shows that the company owns over 100 trademarks in a variety of areas — including film production. Interestingly, its application for “Sound of Freedom” was filed only days after the film initially hit the big screen.

The preexisting trademarks owned by DN Marks LLC do not necessarily mean they’re the rightful owners of the film’s title. And while some trademark disputes seem to stem from misunderstandings or similar names — the fact that both applications focus on stories of human trafficking seems to indicate that the two parties are fighting over the same intellectual property.

Mounting Legal Issues for “Sound of Freedom”

When ‘Sound of Freedom’ was released, many viewed it as a means to further the QAnon conspiracy theory. The film tells the story of human trafficking victims, but it seems to play into the tropes of the conspiracy movement in many ways. This caused a tremendous amount of debate online, but once that died down, the film’s legal issues began to mount.

While the film was well-received among conservative audiences, information eventually emerged showing that the supposed “true story” behind the film was greatly embellished. This story was told by Tim Ballard, an activist who has since been removed from organizations that he founded due to allegations of sexual assault.

The alleged criminal acts aren’t where the legal troubles end. In addition to several lawsuits targeting Ballard, cases have been filed against the media companies involved in what Rolling Stone called “mythologizing his exploits.” The current trademark opposition filed by Sound of Freedom Film LLC is just another trouble in the film’s growing list of issues.

Can You Trademark a Film Title?

Similar to trademarking a book title, securing trademark rights over a single film title with no other use is difficult.  A trademark for a series of films is permitted by the trademark office since the name then becomes a source identifier for more than just a single work.   Separately, the owner of a film can copyright the creation — a copyright that Sound of Freedom Film LLC claims to own.

In this case, it seems like the company may be looking to do more than a one-off film. There’s already talk of a potential sequel. Of course, even the news of a potential sequel came with debate over who actually owns the rights to a potential sequel.

The current trademark dispute between Sound of Freedom Film LLC and DN Marks LLC is interesting because DN Marks clearly believed that it had rights over the title as soon as the film was released, and the claimed owner of the copyright only came forward seeking a trademark a full year later.

There’s definitely a lot more to figure out about this case, but it seems to indicate that “Sound of Freedom” is having trouble in almost every area of the law one could imagine.