Jeb Bush loses the copyright to 'Jeb!'

(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

published 23 December 2015

It's a sad day indeed for exclamation mark proponents — Jeb Bush is apparently dropping the high-energy punctuation mark from his brand.

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According to Mother Jones, Bush trademarked "Jeb!" last winter under the name of BHAG LLC. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office accepted the submission for the trademark, and asked for more information, as they are wont to do:

But according to that office, on November 9, Bush's application was officially abandoned. Technically, Bush has until January 9 to restart the process, but for now the name is un-trademarked and open for anyone else to try to grab.According to the original application, Bush wanted the name reserved for use on leather key chains, stadium cushions, stemware, stuffed toys, hair bands, and other cool stuff. In April, the USPTO asked BHAG to provide, within six months, written consent from Bush himself to use his name. Bush never responded. So the USPTO issued an abandonment notice regarding the trademark request. [Mother Jones]

RIP Jeb! It's been fun.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.