Author Acquires Trademark of Hanged Serial Killer

Many months ago, while my manuscript I was researching the Trademark Electronic Service System (TESS) database. I decided to throw a couple names into the database “just for fun.” I was amazed at how many people claimed the trademark on Jack the Ripper. 

Immediately I consulted with my attorney and inquired. “How can someone trademark the name Jack the Ripper.” My counsel explained it thusly, “The name is a fictitious moniker, a made-up name. It is not a birth name.” I responded, “But a lot of people have been calling the London serial killer Jack the Ripper for over a century.” He said, “It’s like this… The name Harry Potter™ is known on every corner of the earth. However, there is no real person named Harry Potter™, he is a fictitious character and his name is trademarked as a symbol because people associate it with books and movies.”

I came away thinking…

I wonder if anyone has ever trademarked the name Dr. Henry Howard Holmes a.k.a.. Dr. H. H. Holmes™? To my surprise, a trademark such as this has never existed. Sure, serial killer Herman Webster Mudgett adopted the moniker as a made-up fictitious name, but for those who know his story they associate him with the names, Dr. Henry Howard Holmes a.k.a. Dr. H. H. Holmes™.

I am honored to say, I am the very first person in history to own the U.S registered trademark to Dr. Henry Howard Holmes a.k.a. Dr. H. H. Holmes™.

What does this mean? Well, under IC 041. US 100 101 107 G&S (Goods and Services) the trademark is restricted under provisions in the following medias: Publishing of books, e-books, audio books, music and illustration, from this day (July 29, 2013) forward.

And I am grateful to share it exclusively on Before It’s News!