Rapper Cardi B Denied U.S. Patent For Catchphrase ‘Okurrr’
It’s not “okurrr.”
Rapper Cardi B didn’t get the green light from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register the rights to her purported signature phrase “okurrr.”
According to CNN, the judgement was handed down after the platinum-selling rapper’s attorney Doreen Small filed applications on behalf of Cardi’s company, Washpoppin, Inc. The singer had plans to trademark the popular catchphrase to use on posters and clothing.
The trademark was refused because it is a commonplace term and an expression that is too widely used, making it too difficult to distinguish as a brand.
In a document sent to Cardi’s team on May 7 refusing the application, the USPTO said that the registration was refused because “the applied-for mark is a slogan or term that does not function as a trademark or service mark to indicate the source of applicant’s goods and/or services and to identify and distinguish them from others.”
The document also cited other companies already using the phase on products, as well as Urban Dictionary.com and Dictionary.com definitions, widely available videos and the frequent use of the term by the Kardashian family among others.
The patent was also denied due to two prior trademark applications still pending under the same name. One was filed on July 31, 2018, by Bellavitae Inc., and another on March 5, 2019, under the name Jacinda Jenkins. Cardi filed her trademark on March 12.
U.S. Patent Office turns down #CardiB's attempt to trademark "Okurrr" https://t.co/tmAr4ftvqH pic.twitter.com/SL3dQhBNud
— billboard (@billboard) July 2, 2019
The phrase first came on the scene during season 6 of RuPaul’s Drag Race by contestant Laganja Estranja, who eventually called out Kim Kardashian for trying to claim rights to the saying. But, the saying reached peak popularity thanks to Cardi who punctuates her statements with the rolling R.
Cardi describes it as a noise made by a “cold pigeon in New York City.”
The rapper explained the use of the term to Jimmy Fallon when guested on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on April 10.
“It depends on the situation that you’re in. If somebody checks somebody, it’s like…okurr! I didn’t know she had all of that in her, okurr! It’s like okaaaaay, but okay is played out. We’ve done that already!” said Cardi.
The “Press” singer also used the phrase during her Pepsi commercial, which premiered during the Super Bowl earlier this year.
The document says that Cardi can’t reverse the decision by amending her application, but she will be able to submit a rebuttal with evidence supporting her trademark registration. Cardi then has six months from the document’s release to submit her response.
