Previously Planet Money found and resurrected the superhero Micro-Face, who had been created long ago and lapsed into public domain. Now they’re trying to make money from him, through licensing.
They put out a call for people who wanted to do a licensing deal, and then spent a day talking to them in turn, Dragon’s Den style, either accept or reject. Speaking to an expert on licensing (she previously worked on Sesame Street and Beavis and Butthead) they decided to follow what they called the Elmo rule: don’t license something out of character.
They reject almost every application. Temporary tattoos because although Micro-Face is a hip guy in NYC, he definitely has tattoos, he wouldn’t have temporary tattoos. A recycling company endorsement because he’s a journalist, he wouldn’t endorse a company. Eventually someone comes along offering Gouda, and they go for it.
Then finally a husband-wife team, The Bitter Housewife, offers an ultimatum on some kind of soda, either work with them or no one. They’ve already registered the trademark on Micro-Face sodas. Can they do that? Yes, says the lawyer they consult, a trademark doesn’t give you exclusive use of the word in every market. Dove cosmetics and Dove chocolate are unrelated, and there’s nothing stopping the PM hosts talking about the Greek goddess Nike, or even selling a T-shirt with her picture, as long as they don’t use her name on the T-shirt.
But there’s also nothing stopping them putting the image of Micro-Face on a soda. (The Bitter Housewife can’t do that, but I guess they can use the original Micro-Face?). So out of spite they reach out to a soda manufacturer and do just that, calling it Planet Money Official Superhero Soda (“sour, but never bitter”).
Planet Money (23 Apr 2021): A Superhero Sells Out
Previously Planet Money found and resurrected the superhero Micro-Face, who had been created long ago and lapsed into public domain. Now they’re trying to make money from him, through licensing.
They put out a call for people who wanted to do a licensing deal, and then spent a day talking to them in turn, Dragon’s Den style, either accept or reject. Speaking to an expert on licensing (she previously worked on Sesame Street and Beavis and Butthead) they decided to follow what they called the Elmo rule: don’t license something out of character.
They reject almost every application. Temporary tattoos because although Micro-Face is a hip guy in NYC, he definitely has tattoos, he wouldn’t have temporary tattoos. A recycling company endorsement because he’s a journalist, he wouldn’t endorse a company. Eventually someone comes along offering Gouda, and they go for it.
Then finally a husband-wife team, The Bitter Housewife, offers an ultimatum on some kind of soda, either work with them or no one. They’ve already registered the trademark on Micro-Face sodas. Can they do that? Yes, says the lawyer they consult, a trademark doesn’t give you exclusive use of the word in every market. Dove cosmetics and Dove chocolate are unrelated, and there’s nothing stopping the PM hosts talking about the Greek goddess Nike, or even selling a T-shirt with her picture, as long as they don’t use her name on the T-shirt.
But there’s also nothing stopping them putting the image of Micro-Face on a soda. (The Bitter Housewife can’t do that, but I guess they can use the original Micro-Face?). So out of spite they reach out to a soda manufacturer and do just that, calling it Planet Money Official Superhero Soda (“sour, but never bitter”).