WASHINGTON – Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's bid to trademark both her name and that of her daughter Bristol ran into trouble at the Patent and Trademark Office because the application forms were not signed, government records show.
Applications to trademark the names Sarah Palin and Bristol Palin were filed on November 5, by the Palin's longtime family attorney, Thomas Van Flein, but were quickly slapped down by a trademark examiner.
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"Registration is refused because the applied-for mark, SARAH PALIN, consists of a name identifying a particular living individual whose consent to register the mark is not of record," the patent and trademark office said in an office action.
"Please note this refusal will be withdrawn if applicant provides written consent from the individual identified in the applied-for mark," the patent office said.
The office also said Palin's application failed to show that her name had been used in commerce and could also be rejected on those grounds.
Bristol Palin's application also will need to be redone, according to a similar office action filed in her case.
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The applications will be fixed, and the trademarks are likely to be granted, said attorney John Tiemessen, who is now handling the trademark process for Palin.
"We're working on it," Tiemessen told Reuters.
Tiemessen is with the law firm Clapp, Peterson, Tiemessen, Thorsness, Johnson, LLC.
Van Flein, who now works for newly elected U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, a Tea Party-backed Republican from Arizona, was not immediately available for comment.
Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president in 2008, has become one of the hottest political "brands" of her party and a darling of the conservative Tea Party movement that helped sweep Republicans to the majority in the House of Representatives during the 2010 elections.
Her daughter, Bristol, became a fan sensation as a contestant last season on the popular ABC show "Dancing with the Stars."
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