My initial thought when Texas A&M BOR member Jim Schwertner suggested a new name for Kyle Field, "Kyle Field: The House that Johnny Built", was that he was joking around, and just didn't think through the reaction. As it turns out, more than just Schwertner have been thinking about this terrible idea for a while.
When looking through patents filed by JMAN2 Enterprises, LLC - the company formed to protect and license the "Johnny Football" nickname - they filed for "The House That Johnny Built" Trademark on January 29th, 2014.
JMAN2 was previously in a trademark dispute over the rights to "Johnny Football" with College Station serial-entrepreneur, Kenneth R. Reynolds. The Manziel family might be in another one for this new filing as well.
Kerrville resident Rachel Fitch, owner of Fitch Estate Sales in Kerrville, TX, and mother to Johnny Manziel's running buddy in College, Uncle Nate Fitch, filed for the same "The House That Johnny Built" trademark on On December 27, 2013. The Fitch family is trying to make some money like everyone else, even if it's off of terrible ideas like this one.
One possibility here is that Jim Schwertner already knows this is a terrible idea, and only floated the idea publicly to help the Manziels with their trademark claims in a future dispute. Either way, it doesn't excuse him from his fumble when he named "John Kimbrough" as a past Texas A&M Heisman Trophy winner.
With Johnny Manziel owning the trademarked slogan that could become forever tied to Kyle Field, the Manziel family is poised to earn recurring licensing fees from Texas A&M for generations to come.
As you can see from this list of the trademarks on file for JMAN2 Enterprises, LLC, this is the only phrase that's been filed so far:
Trademark filing summary:
Input Field |
Entered |
SERIAL NUMBER |
86178965 |
MARK INFORMATION |
|
*MARK |
THE HOUSE THAT JOHNNY BUILT |
STANDARD CHARACTERS |
YES |
USPTO-GENERATED IMAGE |
YES |
LITERAL ELEMENT |
THE HOUSE THAT JOHNNY BUILT |
MARK STATEMENT |
The mark consists of standard characters, without claim to any particular font, style, size, or color. |
REGISTER |
Principal |
APPLICANT INFORMATION |
|
*OWNER OF MARK |
JMAN2 Enterprises, LLC |
*STREET |
110 W. 8th Street |
*CITY |
Tyler |
*STATE (Required for U.S. applicants) |
Texas |
*COUNTRY |
United States |
*ZIP/POSTAL CODE (Required for U.S. applicants only) |
75701 |
PHONE |
972-831-1188 |
EMAIL ADDRESS |
|
LEGAL ENTITY INFORMATION |
|
TYPE |
limited liability company |
STATE/COUNTRY WHERE LEGALLY ORGANIZED |
Texas |
GOODS AND/OR SERVICES AND BASIS INFORMATION |
|
INTERNATIONAL CLASS |
025 |
*IDENTIFICATION |
Athletic apparel, namely, shirts, pants, jackets, footwear, hats and caps, athletic uniforms; Athletic footwear; Athletic pants; Athletic shirts; Athletic shoes; Athletic shorts; Athletic skirts; Athletic tights; Athletic uniforms; Clothing for athletic use, namely, padded elbow compression sleeves being part of an athletic garment; Clothing for athletic use, namely, padded pants; Clothing for athletic use, namely, padded shirts; Clothing for athletic use, namely, padded shorts; Clothing, namely, athletic sleeves; Footwear for track and field athletics; Gloves for apparel; Short-sleeved or long-sleeved t-shirts; T-shirts; T-shirts for T-Shirts namely for Men, Women and Children; Women's athletic tops with built-in bras |
FILING BASIS |
SECTION 1(b) |
ATTORNEY INFORMATION |
|
NAME |
Derek Gilliland |
FIRM NAME |
Nix, Patterson & Roach, LLP |
STREET |
205 Linda Drive |
CITY |
Daingerfield |
STATE |
Texas |
COUNTRY |
United States |
ZIP/POSTAL CODE |
75368 |
PHONE |
903-645-7333 |
FAX |
903-645-5389 |
EMAIL ADDRESS |
|
AUTHORIZED TO COMMUNICATE VIA EMAIL |
Yes |
CORRESPONDENCE INFORMATION |
|
NAME |
Derek Gilliland |
FIRM NAME |
Nix, Patterson & Roach, LLP |
STREET |
205 Linda Drive |
CITY |
Daingerfield |
STATE |
Texas |
COUNTRY |
United States |
ZIP/POSTAL CODE |
75368 |
PHONE |
903-645-7333 |
FAX |
903-645-5389 |
EMAIL ADDRESS |
|
AUTHORIZED TO COMMUNICATE VIA EMAIL |
Yes |
FEE INFORMATION |
|
NUMBER OF CLASSES |
1 |
FEE PER CLASS |
325 |
*TOTAL FEE DUE |
325 |
*TOTAL FEE PAID |
325 |
SIGNATURE INFORMATION |
|
SIGNATURE |
/Paul Manziel/ |
SIGNATORY'S NAME |
Paul Manziel |
SIGNATORY'S POSITION |
Owner |
DATE SIGNED |
01/29/2014 |
PTO Form 1478 (Rev 9/2006)
OMB No. 0651-0009 (Exp 12/31/2014)
Trademark/Service Mark Application, Principal Register
Serial Number: 86178965 Filing Date: 01/29/2014