Pop star Rihanna’s actual first name is Robyn. Despite certain other pop stars probably being fond of that name, Roraj Trade, the company through which Rihanna spreads her brand marketing across various products, decided to apply for a trademark based on the singer’s given sobriquet. The intent behind it was to create a name for “providing online non-downloadable general feature magazines.” What could possibly be wrong with that?
According to DC Comics, everything. Billboard reports the company has filed a Notice Of Opposition to the trademark registration; it seems the company is worried about brand recognition for a certain fancy lad who runs around fighting crime, which is another way of saying they are worried that everyone is an idiot. DC, as is well known to comics fans or people who watched Joel Schumacher movies in the ’90s, has a character named Robin. The company owns several trademarks for the name, including ones for comic books and a toy doll. And the company is very worried that you, dear capitalist, will get a general-interest magazine brought to you by a Barbados-bred singer confused with a comic book character who dresses up in tighty-greenies and hits people.
As to “y” they think this confusion is possible, the company’s paperwork is clear. DC argues that this proposed online magazine is “identical and/or highly related” to the Boy Wonder, in that they are based on words that sound the same, but are not spelled the same, and also that time all of Gotham city was saved by an issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. Since the magazine and DC’s products could potentially be sold to the same people, i.e. anyone, consumers “are likely to be deceived into falsely believing” that Robyn the online general-interest magazine will have something to do with Robin the dangerously imperiled underage kid.
The Robin character has appeared in a variety of guises through the years, and this marks the first time anyone has worried he will be confused with non-downloadable content of the sort you might find in your parents’ Sunday paper Parade insert. Pop star Robyn was unavailable for comment, perhaps because she was confused for the DC character Robin and sent into a nest of criminals, where she was promptly killed.