Trademarking the N-word? It May Be Easier Than You Think

Two men have sought to file a trademark for a variation of the N-word.

Virginia attorney Steve Maynard and Mississippi business consultant Curtis Bordenave filed the applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office after the Supreme Court struck down a ban on disparaging trademarks.

Bordenave sought to use the term in “retail store services featuring clothing, books, music, and general merchandise,” according to one of his trademark applications.

According to the ABA Journal, at least three other people are seeking to trademark the N-word in various phrases.

Maynard is also seeking to trademark the swastika and said he wants to use the image on products like baby wipes or put it on a flag that is too expensive to buy.

Why all this work to trademark racial epithets and symbols? They want to prevent racist groups from making money from the word.

“One of the hopes is that people look at the swastika flag in 10 years and think: baby wipes,” Maynard told the Washington Post, saying that “social satire” like this could change the symbol’s meaning and make it harder for hate groups to use it.

Bordenave said he was inspired to “censor” the n-word because of his experiences as a black man in the South, including one incident of being called the n-word by a police officer during a traffic stop. 

Maynard said, “We hope to flood the market with T-shirts and clothing and end up opening a discussion.” He added that he has received threats related to his trademark application.

Maynard started his company, Snowflake Enterprises (named after an insult often hurled at “thin skinned” liberals), with several investors so they could apply for offensive trademarks after the Supreme Court decision was handed down.

He also said he’s doing this because he believes that saturating the market with offensive terms and racial epithets can rob them of their power. The idea is to turn “hate into hope,” Maynard said in a phone interview. 

What do you think? Will Maynard and Bordenave succeed in trademarking the N-word and the swastika? Do you think the Supreme Court made a good decision when it lifted the ban on trademarking offensive terms? Please share your thoughts in the comments.