{"id":1322,"date":"2016-02-08T16:00:32","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T21:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/jsel\/?p=1322"},"modified":"2023-07-25T12:17:11","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T16:17:11","slug":"youtube-brothers-trademark-claims-provoke-angry-reaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/jsel\/2016\/02\/youtube-brothers-trademark-claims-provoke-angry-reaction\/","title":{"rendered":"YouTube Brothers\u2019 Trademark Claims Provoke Angry Reaction"},"content":{"rendered":"

A popular YouTube channel called \u201cThe Fine Bros\u201d is under fire this week following an announcement regarding the company\u2019s intellectual property. The channel and its two founding brothers rocketed to fame after creating a series of reaction videos, including \u201cKids React\u201d and \u201cElders React.\u201d The Fine Bros have over 13 million subscribers and the channel boasts over 3 billion total views. This week, according to the BBC<\/a>,\u00a0the Fine Bros announced that they had registered for a trademark in the word REACT under \u201centertainment services, namely, providing an on-going series of programs and webisodes via the Internet in the field of observing and interviewing various groups of people.\u201d In a video released by the channel, the pair suggests that they plans on enforcing copyright in their reaction \u201cformat,\u201d though the details of their legal claims are unclear.<\/p>\n

Given the descriptive nature of the mark, and the wide variety of goods it would affect, it is unsurprising that the announcement has been ill received in the intellectual property, entertainment law, and YouTube communities. Given the popularity of reaction videos online, and the wide proliferation of the format, it will be interesting to see how the mark is enforced. Further, if the mark is successfully enforced, the Fine Bros may inspire more content creators to protect and enforce intellectual property, potentially leading to a less open and creative environment on YouTube. The trademark is currently entering the opposition stage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A popular YouTube channel called \u201cThe Fine Bros\u201d is under fire this week following an announcement regarding the company\u2019s intellectual property. The channel and its two founding brothers rocketed to fame after creating a series of reaction videos, including \u201cKids React\u201d and \u201cElders React.\u201d The Fine Bros have over 13 million subscribers and the channel 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