Nute Gunray Posted February 2, 2002 Share Posted February 2, 2002 PHILADELPHIA (Feb. 1) - The foundation set up in the name of Sept. 11 hero Todd Beamer is racing to trademark his last known words - ''Let's roll'' - and ensure that any money made off the phrase goes to the victims' families. The foundation is competing against various companies and individuals who want to sell everything from T-shirts to mud flaps emblazoned with what has become a catch phrase for American courage. The race could eventually lead to a legal battle over whether someone can actually claim exclusive use over such a commonly used expression. Doug MacMillan, executive director of the Todd M. Beamer Foundation, said the foundation wants to put the phrase on merchandise such as T-shirts and hats and put a stop to ''profiteering'' by those who are already selling such items. ''We think it's horrible for people to want to profit off the events of Sept. 11. If there's anybody who should be benefiting, it should be the victims,'' MacMillan said. The foundation, set up to raise money for relatives of victims of the terrorist attacks, applied for a trademark for ''Let's roll'' on Sept. 26 - four days after Iman Abdallah of Newark, N.J. Abdallah's application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office calls for using ''Let's roll'' on T-shirts. Abdallah has an unlisted number and could not be reached for comment, but foundation lawyer Paul Kennedy said Abdallah has refused to withdraw the application. At least a dozen other individuals and companies have also applied for a trademark for ''Let's roll'' and variations such as ''America Let's Roll'' and ''Are you ready? Let's roll!'' Jack L. Williams, 59, a contractor from Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., applied for a trademark on Sept. 24, two days before the Beamer foundation. He said he ignored a warning letter from the foundation's lawyers. ''I don't care what your name is, it's first in, first swim,'' said Williams, whose application lists T-shirts and sweatshirts as potential uses. ''It's all about good old American capitalism.'' American Promotional Events Inc., an Alabama wholesale fireworks distributor, has decided to work with the Beamer foundation rather than pursue its own trademark application, spokesman Dennis Revell said Friday. Beamer, a 32-year-old account manager for Oracle Corp., was on United Flight 93, which crashed in the Pennsylvania countryside on Sept. 11. It was the only one of four hijacked planes that didn't kill anyone on the ground. Not long before the crash, Beamer cried, ''Let's roll!'' on an in-flight phone as passengers apparently prepared to confront the hijackers. ''Let's roll'' has since become a national catchphrase. President Bush has repeatedly invoked Beamer's words to rally Americans in the war on terrorism, while rocker Neil Young wrote a tribute song with the same title. The phrase has been used to sell everything from bumper stickers to T-shirts to mugs. On the eBay Internet auction site, a seller advertises ''Let's roll'' inspirational bracelets. The foundation does not have a problem with others using ''Let's roll'' to raise money for Sept. 11 victims, ''but when people are hawking his image and sticking the money in their pockets, then we've got a problem with that,'' said Kennedy, the foundation lawyer. Boston-based patent attorney Tom Holt said he does not believe a trademark on ''Let's roll!'' would survive a court challenge. Holt, who is not connected to the dispute, said it is difficult to get legal control of a phrase that many people used before Sept. 11. ''You can't seek to appropriate for your own use words plucked out of the dictionary,'' he said. ''While the words 'Let's roll' have taken on a very profound significance, I don't think trademark protection will be given to that phrase.'' HOW MUCH MONEY DO THESE PEOPLE NEED? I understand that your family member was killed in a massive terrorist attack, but GEEZ. The families of guys killed in actual wars don't get all sorts of money from all sorts of donations and now they want to trademark a phrase that *I* was using at least five years ago. Now, i'm not claiming to have coined the phrase, but I'm certain it was a common saying well before I was born. If I get killed, one of you has to trademark the phrase "Bling Bling." <b>we'll make a giant mountain of money</b> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUNNER Posted February 2, 2002 Share Posted February 2, 2002 Will this crap never end. No where but in America. Sometimes I just hate the freedom we have, especially when it gives people the ability to do dumb stuff like this... Sad..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiral Odin Posted February 2, 2002 Share Posted February 2, 2002 People are just greedy, few exceptions. For some reason it is common to give money to people who don't really need it. For instance, the world trade center funds have generated millions for the victims, yet most of those victims are already well off, and are not poor. Granted that there are some exceptions. Now take a devastating flood. No funds are raised, a short news spot, and the families who literally lost everything have nothing to fall back on. The wealthy seem to like giving to the wealthy, and well everyone is plain greedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BasiliskJC Posted February 2, 2002 Share Posted February 2, 2002 There's alot of greedy people who want money that they didn't even earn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poor Bastard Posted February 3, 2002 Share Posted February 3, 2002 Originally posted by BasiliskJC There's alot of greedy people who want money that they didn't even earn. Wait, lemme fix this phrase: Should've been originally posted by BasiliskJC All people want money that they don't earn. Much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tierce Posted February 3, 2002 Share Posted February 3, 2002 Its shame that people have decided to try and make money off of a tragedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand_Admiral_Ice Posted February 3, 2002 Share Posted February 3, 2002 This probably wouldn't happen if we were a communist country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted February 3, 2002 Share Posted February 3, 2002 Ice, your logic is tremendous. BTW I accidentally voted I don't undertand the question...so ignore that vote lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand_Admiral_Ice Posted February 3, 2002 Share Posted February 3, 2002 Are you entirely sure it was an accident? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainRAVE Posted February 3, 2002 Share Posted February 3, 2002 Originally posted by Redwing Ice, your logic is tremendous. BTW I accidentally voted I don't undertand the question...so ignore that vote lol Me neither .......its early in the morning and im a little slow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poor Bastard Posted February 3, 2002 Share Posted February 3, 2002 Originally posted by Redwing BTW I accidentally voted I don't undertand the question...so ignore that vote lol You're from Florida, aren't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRogue 3000 Posted February 3, 2002 Share Posted February 3, 2002 Florida will never be able to shake that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted February 3, 2002 Share Posted February 3, 2002 Harsh... Very harsh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Beastie Posted February 3, 2002 Share Posted February 3, 2002 [iRONY]That's funny; I thought Nute was all for Capitalism.[/iRONY] This is pretty sad though. What's even sadder is that I'm not actually surprised; these are humans we're talking about, after all. :rolleyess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue Nine Posted February 3, 2002 Share Posted February 3, 2002 Bottom line: We're greedy, materialistic little assholes and we suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zargon Posted February 3, 2002 Share Posted February 3, 2002 yeah pretty much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted February 3, 2002 Share Posted February 3, 2002 Originally posted by Poor Bastard You're from Florida, aren't you? Wouldn't it be ironic if I was? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nute Gunray Posted February 4, 2002 Author Share Posted February 4, 2002 Oh, I'm all for Capitalism, but that's not capitalism. That's whiney redistribution of wealth. OH NOS I WANT TO COPYRIGHT A COMMON PHRASE THAT SOMEONE ELSE ALREADY COPYRIGHTED! I SHOULD BE HANDED EVERYTHING BECAUSE MY ________ WAS KILLED IN THE _________. I understand that those killed in Flight 93 aren't getting the same amount of money as those in the WTC and Pentagon (which is another beef altogether. The families of WTC victims are getting somewhere around $1.8 million a piece and they want MORE? And these aren't poor people, these are people whose husband was a stock market analyst worth 10 times that and certainly have more money than I'll ever make squirreled away). However to try to copyright a COMMON PHRASE of American/Canadian (I assume) English, even after someone else got it, is absurd. If United offered to charge me a surchage of 300% for a plane ticket on a plane guaranteed not to be hijacked and flown into a building, THAT is the magic of capitialism. Being a whiney ***** isn't. Ask the family of that Navy fighter pilot that got dragged through the streets of Mogadishu and beaten to death how much THEY got. How much money did the people that had a Pan Am 747 crash into their house get? What about the guys on the Cole or the guys in those embassies in Africa? If someone printed up shirts that said "Osama Likes It Up the Ass" and copyrighted that, I would have no problem and probably buy two. He came up with an original product and marketed it. Horray for America. But if someone tries to copyright "Let's roll" and says "WAHHH I SHOULD GET THE COPYRIGHT BECAUSE THE GUY ON THE PLANE SAID THAT WAAHHHH" then no. Saying something is not fair is not the spirit of Capitialism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zargon Posted February 4, 2002 Share Posted February 4, 2002 I have deduced this to be the evolution of the Sue Everyone for Everything mind State, I am naming it the "copyright all the worthless bull**** I can' mindstate and will be copyrighting that ASAP so you bastards cant steal it from me and make a few bucks off it instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUNNER Posted February 4, 2002 Share Posted February 4, 2002 Let's face it, the nation as a whole from leaders to homeless ,are greedy little turds wether we want to admit it or not. But too take advantage of a disaster like this puts some of these retartds in a even bigger leauge. It's times like this that make me sick that we have some of the freedoms we do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tierce Posted February 5, 2002 Share Posted February 5, 2002 Its actually ironic because we are actually proving one of the points why terrorist have beef with us (ie materialism, greediness). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nute Gunray Posted February 5, 2002 Author Share Posted February 5, 2002 well then, bin Laden should have cut to the chase and not gotten all his money by building the cement foundations for oil wells in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait so that the US could buy the oil there. Ironic. He wants the US to leave Saudi Arabia yet his family is directly responsible for the reason for our military presence... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zargon Posted February 5, 2002 Share Posted February 5, 2002 yeah, hes a moron, go figure............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold leader Posted February 5, 2002 Share Posted February 5, 2002 About his family, I believe they've expelled him. Not sure though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nute Gunray Posted February 5, 2002 Author Share Posted February 5, 2002 That's what I heard too. I feel bad for his brother who was all set to start marketing his Binladin clothing line. I think bin Laden is just jealous of the Saudi royal family. They're up there on his list. I think Prince Bandar is pretty cool. Bin Laden doesn't like the same stuff as me it seems, although his choice of airliner was good. I like the 767. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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