Florida man seeks trademark on ‘Je Suis Charlie’ slogan

A Miami-area man is seeking to profit from the phrase “Je Suis Charlie,” which became a rallying cry after a terrorist attack in Paris that killed 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo newspaper. According to a Jan. 16 filing at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Latin American Trading Group Inc. applied for a trademark on the words, which translate to “I Am Charlie.” The application says the phrase would be used on a range of products. But Coral Gables trademark attorney David Friedland predicts that company director Joe Marc Gershon’s application will not be approved because trademark holders must be the phrase’s source. Friedland says people often waste hundreds of dollars in attempts to trademark popular phrases like “Boston Strong” because they don’t understand the law.

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