Nintendo Tries to Trademark "It's On Like Donkey Kong" Phrase
File this one under "Oh yes they did!," because Nintendo has gone and tried to trademark the popular phrase "It's on like Donkey Kong." The request was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office recently, and who knows if it will be granted or not. However, this isn't the first time Nintendo has tried to trademark a phrase associated with its game characters.
Nintendo also tried to trademark "Gotta Catch 'Em All," which as you know is tied into the company's Pokemon cash cow. But what you might not be aware of is that Nintendo didn't create the phrase "It's on like Donkey Kong," which GameStop says was popularized by rapper Ice Cube when he used it in his 1992 track "Now I Gotta Wet'Cha." Now a part of pop culture, the phrase has been used in everything from American Wedding (Stiffler said it) to a sports commercials with the Williams sisters (tennis) and Manning brothers (football).
So what do you think -- should Nintendo be able to trademark a phrase it didn't create, or does the videogame maker have every right to do so since it involves Donkey Kong?
Nintendo also tried to trademark "Gotta Catch 'Em All," which as you know is tied into the company's Pokemon cash cow. But what you might not be aware of is that Nintendo didn't create the phrase "It's on like Donkey Kong," which GameStop says was popularized by rapper Ice Cube when he used it in his 1992 track "Now I Gotta Wet'Cha." Now a part of pop culture, the phrase has been used in everything from American Wedding (Stiffler said it) to a sports commercials with the Williams sisters (tennis) and Manning brothers (football).
So what do you think -- should Nintendo be able to trademark a phrase it didn't create, or does the videogame maker have every right to do so since it involves Donkey Kong?
