TVSquad

According to Trademork.com, Twentieth Century Fox has trademarked the word "Slurm". For those who are unaware, Slurm is the highly addictive beverage used in Futurama that comes out of a giant worm's butt.

The exact trademark relates to "carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks; fruit drinks; fruit juices; mineral and aerated water; bottled drinking water; energy drinks; syrups and powders for making soft drinks and other beverages, namely soft drinks, fruit drinks and tea; coffee-flavored soft drinks; Ramune (Japanese soda pops); powders used in the preparation of isotonic sports drinks and sports beverages".

The Chicago Tribune has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit to stop the Fox News Channel from using the name Red Eye for its late-night round table show. For those of you outside of Chicago, RedEye is a weekday offering from the Tribune aimed at readers in their 20s and 30s. The Tribune has also requested unspecified damages. You may be wondering to yourself, did the Tribune sue the film Red Eye, too? No, they didn't, but the Tribune isn't just delivering the karmic comeuppance to Fox for their own "fair and balanced" lawsuit. There's a reason why the Tribune has gone all litigious.

Because Red Eye, which features blogger Greg Gutfeld as its host, covers current events, politics and pop culture in a colloquial manner - much as the Tribune's tabloid offering does - the assumption might be made that the two are collaborating. I'm not sure who would make that assumption, but apparently, someone would. So, there you go, another day in the life of intellectual property law.

I was kinda obsessed with CNBC in the mid to late 90s, when the stock and internet boom was in full throttle. The station was quite entertaining, even if I didn't really understand all the numbers. The personalities on the channel kept things lively and fun.

And one of my favorites was Maria Bartiromo, the really hot Wall Street babe financial expert who was dubbed the "Money Honey." I can't remember who dubbed her that, but it fit. And now you can still call her the "Money Honey," only this time it's official. Bartiromo has filed a trademark registration for the term, and it's been trademarked for many things, including coloring books, notepad, comic books, and coupon books.

Wow, a Maria Bartiromo coloring book. I would so buy that.

Bartiromo is in the news for other reasons lately as well.

Damon Wayans has been struggling for over a year now to get the word "Nigga" trademarked for a line of clothing. Not surprisingly, his applications have been routinely rejected due to a law which states trademarked names must not be "immoral or scandalous." This, of course, opens up a whole philosophical can of worms. Is it okay for the name to be used on clothing if the man behind the clothing is black? Do opinions matter if they're from outside the target demographic? If Wayans ever does manage to launch his clothing line, I think the scandal alone could make it a very lucrative venture, something that surely isn't lost on him.