It Looks Like Trump Is Trying To Trademark ‘Truthing,’ ‘Retruth’ And ‘Follow The Truth’
Image Source: The Times
Former President Donald Trump appears to be trying to corner the market on “truth” words and phrases.
The Florida attorney who filed a trademark application for “Truth Social” a week ahead of Trump’s announcement that he’s launching a Truth Social media network is also attempting to trademark various “truth” words and phrases, Mother Jones was the first to report.
Holly Collins, an intellectual property rights attorney, earlier this month filed applications to trademark the words “truthing,” “post a truth,” “retruth” and “follow the truth,” according to records with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
One of the applications included this logo from Trump’s Truth Social website:
Trump is known to be trademark and branding obsessed and has filed hundreds of trademark applications, including for “Trump Class,” “Trumpet,” “Tour de Trump” and “Trump Power,” Gizmodo reports.
Collins also filed to trademark “TMTG” — Trump Media and Technology Group, which is merging with Digital Acquisitions Group — and “TMTG+,” which will launch entertainment and news streaming services in a venture that operators estimate could be worth $1.7 billion.
According to a statement, last week from Trump, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the company website, the Trump Media & Technology Group will include “non-woke” versions of Netflix and Disney+, news operations to compete with CNN, web hosting that will take on Amazon and Google — and Truth Social.
The new social media platform is being touted as a place for “open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology.” But in one major glitch, the platform’s terms of service also forbid all users from “disparaging, tarnishing … us and/or the Site,” which would presumably include any criticism of the former president.
Collins could not be reached for comment on the truth trademark applications, and TMTG did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Forbes has characterized an investment in the fledgling publicly traded business as a “sucker’s bet.”
“It is a business starting from ground zero with multiple hurdles in front of it,” vowing to take on major media companies and Big Tech writes Forbes magazine senior contributor Chuck Jones.
Digital World’s IPO prospectus stated flat out: “We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering.”
Trump’s only other experience running a publicly-traded company was a disaster for investors.
Trump Entertainment Resorts included many of his Atlantic City casinos. The company lost more than $1 billion over two decades beginning in 1995, its stock price nosedived, and it filed for bankruptcy three times, The Washington Post reported last week.
Trump, meanwhile, collected more than $44 million in “salaries, bonus and other compensation,” the Post reported.
Despite the ominous signs, shares in the new venture via a fast-tracked Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) have skyrocketed.
