Barry and Mooch unethical? The hell you say! Barry and Mooch deplorable? That must be racist or something isn’t it? A Los Angeles entertainment attorney claims that the Obama family filed a “meritless petition” amid a trademark dispute over the name of their company, Higher Ground Productions. The Obamas just bought a $15 million mansion on Martha’s Vineyard that features 7 bed rooms and 8.5 bathrooms. How can they be deplorable and unethical. Surely, on a $400,000 per year salary for eight years, you can afford a $15 million mansion, right?
| Obama Family accused of unethical actions amid trademark dispute with Hollywood attorney |
|---|
|
When they go low, we go high,” said Michelle Obama at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
Going high evidently includes a trademark fight.
On Aug. 20, Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions made a move to save its name. That day, the company went to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and demanded cancellation of someone else’s earlier trademark registration for “Higher Ground Enterprises.”
Higher Ground Enterprises is run by Hanisya Massey, who, according to her attorney Larry Zerner, is in the business of helping authors publish e-books. Her trademark is in Class 41, which includes entertainment services. Zerner says Massey has been using “Higher Ground” since 2008.
Naturally, as the Obamas came to a lucrative agreement with Netflix for films and television series, Higher Ground Productions came into conflict with Higher Ground Enterprises.
On April 10, a Trademark Examiner refused to register the Obamas’ claimed mark with a nod to the one held by Massey.
The Obamas, who are fans of Stevie Wonder (whose “Higher Ground” was a chart-topper in 1973) argued the two marks could co-exist in the marketplace.