Oprah Winfrey won a legal battle against her for using the phrase, “Own Your Power” in her magazine, TV shows and website, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Motivational speaker Simone Kelly-Brown sued Oprah back in 2011 for using her registered trademark of 15 years. But a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit claiming the Queen of Talk had a fair use right to label her magazine descriptively.
A year later, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals argued that an Oprah Magazine power women issue encouraged readers to become more powerful in a very descriptive way.
U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty ruled in favor of Oprah, her company and publisher.
According to him, the phrase “lacks the requisite distinctiveness” to deserve trademark protection.
“Though they may aspire to do so, plaintiffs (Kelly-Brown) present no evidence indicating a likelihood of creating a global media presence capable of attracting an audience of millions,” Crotty wrote.
Nevertheless, Kelly-Brown plans to appeal Judge Crotty’s decision, her lawyer Patricia Lawrence-Kolaras told Fortune.
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