Oprah Winfrey has prevailed in a trademark lawsuit challenging her use of the phrase “Own Your Power” in her namesake magazine, on TV, on websites and in social media accounts.
U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty in Manhattan ruled on Thursday that Winfrey, her company Harpo Productions Inc and her publisher Hearst Corp demonstrated that the phrase “lacks the requisite distinctiveness” to deserve trademark protection.
Crotty also said Simone Kelly-Brown, a motivational speaker and business coach who said she trademarked the phrase in 2008, and her company Own Your Power Communications Inc did not show that Winfrey’s use of the phrase would likely confuse consumers.
