First (American) football starts. Now the Fall TV season is about to begin in the U.S. and what’s new on the schedule? More reality TV. Yes, soon you’ll be able to tune in to see new reality shows featuring everything from extreme shoppers (“My Shopping Addiction”), to a pre-teen beauty pageant contestant (“Here Comes Honey Boo Boo”), to the Amish (“Breaking Amish”).
But let’s not forget those kids from the “Jersey Shore.” The premiere of Season 6 is just around the corner and series regular Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino finds himself in a bit of a trademark situation. Sorrentino (through his company MPS Entertainment) tried to register trademarks for two of his catchphrases used on the show (“GTL” for “gym, tan, laundry” and “twinning” for … well, let’s just say it has something to do with twin sisters.) He’s already registered trademarks for “The Situation” in a number of categories (from after-shave to computer apps) in 2010 and 2011.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Viacom (MTV’s parent company) is opposing Sorrentino’s catchphrase trademark filings, claiming it owns any and all of them originating from the show. The website reported that Sorrentino’s agreement with the producers of “Jersey Shore” granted it rights to “all ideas, gags, suggestions, themes, plots, stories, characters, characterizations, dialogue, text, designs, graphics, titles, drawings, artwork, digital works, songs, music, photography, video, film and other material whether or not fixed or reduced to drawing or writing, at any time heretofore or hereafter created or contributed by me which in any way relate to ["Jersey Shore"]…”
You’ll have to stay tuned for the next installment of “Jersey Shore” trademark stories. In the meantime, which reality TV show is your guilty pleasure?
