The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) receives hundreds of thousands of trademark applications yearly. Each of these filings goes through a rigorous process. Only about half of these submissions receive trademark registrations. However, you’d expect this number to be much lower by looking at the success rate of Kanye West trademark applications.
In fact, around 350 applications filed by the singer’s trademark firm have failed in the last 12 months. However, these rejections were not related to the underlying validity of the trademarks in question. After all, “Yews” as a news service – one of the rapper’s applications – would’ve likely met the distinctiveness and commercial requirements of the USPTO.
As many might expect from the notorious celebrity, these rejections seem to stem exclusively from Kanye’s disorganized approach to… well, everything.
Hundreds of Kanye West Trademarks Denied
When Kanye West launched his “Yews” platform, many worried the name was an antisemitic bash on Jewish people. In reality, it was the hip hop star’s attempt at building his own news platform. The website didn’t last long, shutting down after less than a year. However, Kanye used his Ox Paha trademark company to file dozens of “Yews” applications during that time.
As of this writing, 20 of the 26 applications submitted to trademark the name have been rejected. Many of these seem nonsensical in nature, including attempts to register “Yews” for both agricultural and surgical supplies. However, this is only the tip of the iceberg. The USPTO has rejected at least 350 applications from Ox Paha Inc. over the last year.
In the majority of these cases, the filings became abandoned trademarks due to the applicant failing to submit the appropriate filings.
Kanye’s Abandoned Trademarks
One of the most important aspects of trademark law in America is commercial use. These brand identifiers must be distinctive, but brands must also use them commercially prior to registration. Applicants need to file a trademark Statement of Use (SOU) showing that this has occurred. In the majority of Kanye’s rejections, this basic requirement was not met.
In other instances, Kanye West trademarks became abandoned when communications from the USPTO were ignored. This seems to be the case with the attempt to trademark “Yews” for beverage services, among others. All told, the 350 rejected Ox Paha applications from the last 12 months were almost all due to abandonment – not any underlying issue with the trademarks themselves.
Unfortunately for Kanye, this seems par for the course with his company.
A Brand Hanging On for Dear Life
A cursory trademark search shows that Ox Paha hasn’t had a single successful trademark application in the past five years. However, the hundreds of failures from the last year don’t point towards an entrepreneur who has given up. Some of the applications to register “Yews” are still live in the USPTO system.
In these applications – such as the attempt to trademark “Yews” for legal services – the USPTO has not granted registration. Rather, they approved requests for extensions. Ox Paha asked for more time to submit a Statement of Use for the six applications that are still live. In addition to legal services, these applications cover Christmas decorations, electronic equipment, medical services, music streaming, and product design services.
Who knows? We might be able to sit around our Kanye West trademarked Christmas trees after visiting a “Yews” medical clinic in the near future. Assuming the necessary filings get submitted on time.
