Ch 9: Footnotes

“Awoke to the news”:

Heidi Tringe, PRESS RELEASE, December 12, 2014, “Folk Artist Prevails over Fast Food Giant!” “Vermont T-Shirt artist and entrepreneur Bo Muller-Moore and his attorneys, Ashlyn Lembree and Daniel Richardson today announced that they have prevailed in their fight for trademark protection for Muller-Moore’s iconic T-Shirt slogan and design.”

“August 2015”:

Eat More Kale trademark certificate, reg. #4,795,440, August 18, 2015, United States Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO.gov.

“Notice of Allowance”:

USPTO.gov, Definition of Notice of Allowance, “A notice of allowance is a written notification from the USPTO that a specific mark has survived the opposition period following publication in the Official Gazette, and has consequently been allowed; it does not mean that the mark has registered yet. Receiving a notice of allowance is another step on the way to registration.”

“More than a technicality”:

USPTO, Notice of Allowance (NOA), December 9, 2014, Serial Number: 85412053, Mark: EAT MORE KALE, “FAILURE TO FILE A REQUIRED DOCUMENT OUTLINED ABOVE DURING THE APPROPRIATE TIME PERIOD WILL RESULT IN THE ABANDONMENT OF THIS APPLICATION.” Note: the NOA refers to “this application.” Also all caps via USPTO notice.

“File more work”:

USPTO, Notice of Allowance (NOA), December 9, 2014, Serial Number: 85412053, Mark: EAT MORE KALE

“The issue date of this NOA establishes the due date for the filing of a Statement of Use (SOU) or a Request for Extension of Time to file a Statement of Use (Extension Request). WARNING: An SOU that meets all legal requirements must be filed before a registration certificate can issue.  Please read below for important information regarding the applicant's pending six (6) month deadline.

SIX (6)-MONTH DEADLINE: Applicant has six (6) MONTHS from the NOA issue date to file [the Statement of Use].”

“Until USPTO issues”: 

Kenneth L. Port, follow-up in-person interview with James Lantz, Bar Harbor, Maine, June 8, 2015.

See also, Ken Port, 2015 email correspondence to James Lantz, “As I’ve said, Bo’s statements about the Notice of Allowance are hyperbole no educated trademark person would put much stock in. It’s the issuance of the certificate that matters. I think it’s bad advice (if given) to Bo to make much of the Notice of Allowance.”

“Around the World”:

Wilson Ring, Associated Press Published in the Phillippine Star, December 13, 2014, “Man celebrates his new ‘Eat More Kale' trademark”

“Time Magazine”:

Charlotte Alter, TIME Magazine, December 12, 2014, “Vermont Man Wins Right to Use Eat More Kale Slogan, Despite Chick-fil-A Objections”

“Washington Post”:

Abby Ohlheiser, ‘Eat More Kale Guy Wins Trademark Battle With Chick-fil-A. Vermont Celebrates, Naturally.” Washington Post, December 12, 2014.

Facebook, Bo and fans:

—Bo Moore, Eat More Kale Facebook page, December 13, 2014, “Consider SUPPORTING ME AND MY VICTORY OVER CHICK-FIL-A.”

—Eat More Kale Facebook page, Fan KT, December 13, 2014, “So happy about this I started crying tears of joy when I read this!!!!!”

—Eat More Kale Facebook page, Fan ES, December 13, 2014, “I am actually crying, so happy for your, for your family and your art.”

—Bo Moore, Eat More Kale Facebook page, December 13, 2014, “Valerie has some words about CFA vs EMK” (Bo posted Fan VJC’s poem) “Congratulations! I am not ordinarily inclined toward poetry, but these lines suddenly emerged: TAKE A HIKE CHICK-FIL-A, Plan an outing for just one day, In the Green Mountains of Vermont, To better understand what it is Bo and we want. The Court ruled in Bo’s favor, There is much to savor, Of this Victory, Check us out and you will see, That we strive for Harmony, With Mother Nature, and Neighbors and More, Together we are strong than going it alone.”

“Calling him a hero”:

Eat More Kale Facebook page, Fan EW, December 13, 2014, “a small town hero”

See also, Eat More Kale Facebook page, Fan KE, June 4, 2014, “Bo Moore is a national hero.”

See also, The Mountain Times, April 8, 2015, Join the Movement Eat More Kale, “[Bo] became nothing less than a folk hero after refusing to surrender his shirts and livelihood to Chick-fil-A.”

See also, Eva Sollberger, November 3, 2014, Stuck in Vermont: The Eat More Kale Dude”

Facebook fans:

—Eat More Kale Facebook page, Fan PD, December 13, 2014

—Eat More Kale Facebook page, Fan AL, “YES!! What a long time coming.”

—Eat More Kale Facebook page, Fan MD, December 13, 2014

—Eat More Kale Facebook page, Fan WD, December 13, 2014, “Well it’s about time. So happy for you.”

—Eat More Kale Facebook page, Fan JS, December 13, 2014

—Eat More Kale Facebook page, Fan JS, December 13, 2014

—Eat More Kale Facebook page, Fan RH, December 13, 2014 “Finally. Who knew it would take so long.

In response to Facebook fans, Bo posted:

Bo Moore, Eat More Kale Facbook page, December 2014, “While I’d love to celebrate, I’ve got orders to fill!!!!!!!!”

“Consume another six month deadline”:

USPTO.gov, Eat More Kale Trademark Application, Serial number: 85412053, Request for Extension of Time to File a Statement of Use, June 9, 2015, “The applicant, EAT MORE KALE, LLC … requests a six-month extension of time to file the Statement of Use under 37 C.F.R. Section 2.89 in this application.” Note: application signed electronically by Robert Moore.

See also, 2015 Email from Professor Ken Port to James Lantz:

“It is, for sure, being very oddly prosecuted. Bo can file 5 more extensions for those ITU goods and services every 6 months. It is really odd to me that the attorney would lump the use based goods in with the ITU based goods, thereby holding up the issuance of the registration for up to 3 years, knowing that there is potential conflicts brewing. On the date of the NOA, no one can file an opposition to the application. Of course, anyone can file a cancellation petition for 5 years for any reason, so it isn't that big of a deal. Certainly not the big deal that Bo made of it. In the end, my guy agreed that Bo is getting non-standard trademark advice which makes your job that much more challenging. … The PTO seems to have bifurcated this application on their own motion, something I didn’t know was possible. All goods in at least one class are now used in commerce so the registration will issue for those goods.”

“2 to 5 years”: 

Ashlyn Lembree, September 8, 2014, email to Bo Moore, re: progress, “IF there is no opposition, there could be registration before the end of the year. If there is an opposition, it could be 2 - 5 years still, but at least this would shorten the possible length with an appeal in there of 7 years.”

August 18, 2015:

USPTO.gov, Eat More Kale trademark certificate, reg #4,795,440, United States Patent and Trademark Office, August 18, 2015

“Supreme Court of the United States”:

Eat More Kale Facebook page, Fan CF, January 12, 2016, “One update: the Supreme Court of the United States found in favor of Bo Muller-Moore and Eat More Kale.”

“Story in speeches”:

Letitia Baldwin, Ellsworth American, April 2, 2015, Winter Harbor, Maine, “Eat More Kale Creator to Recount Trademark Battle.” Press Release that included a quote from Bo Moore: “My presentation will detail the history of my “micro-business” from the farmer’s market to my legal battle with the billionaires at the fast food giant, Chick-Fil-A.”

See also: The Mountain Times, Rochester, VT, April 9 2015, Join the Movement, Eat More Kale, Speech Bo Moore was to give at Rochester Public Library, April 9th, 2015, “Bo Muller-Moore stood up to corporate America and won when many before him had backed down. His iconic “Eat More Kale” t-shirts and bumper stickers had made him famous in Vermont but he became nothing less than a folk hero after refusing to surrender his shirts and his livelihood to Chick-fil-A.”

“Stepped-on stories”:

Bo Moore, conversation with James Lantz, November 24, 2014, “A victory is not the same news as getting stepped on. People like stepped-on stories.”