Activision is opposing a trademark in the USA. It concerns Call of Duty and dog poop.
According to PCGamesN, Activision apparently intends to oppose the entry of a trademark in the USA. It concerns a service that removes dog waste: “Call of Doodee.”
The publisher of Destiny and Call of Duty has been granted an extension to take action against the name “Call of Doodee.”
On one side a mega-corporation – on the other a couple in California
“Call of Doodee” is a family business run by a couple in California. Albert and Leslie Ochoa claim to love dogs and have four of their own. Since 2013, they have been offering to clean up after dogs and remove their waste. The couple can be booked to come to someone’s home and remove dog poop.
The name “Call of Duty” is a kind of wordplay:
- In the shooter series, the English word “Duty” refers to the obligation to fight for one’s country, to perform one’s service.
- In “Call of Doodee,” the irony is more about “When biology calls.” Someone is indeed calling, and you cannot resist that.
Call of Doodee threatens shooter brand
Activision apparently believes that the name of the dog poop service “Call of Doodee” threatens its own brand “Call of Duty,” a successful series of military shooters. They formally requested an extension to take action against the name later. This request was granted.
As PCGamesN reports, Activision has 23 trademarks related to the “Call of Duty” brand in the USA, but none of them concerns dog waste. Other than the name, there are no similarities between the huge computer game franchise and the dog waste removal family business. Call of Doodee does not use any logos or other materials from Call of Duty in its advertising.
The only thing “Call of Doodee” has to do with the military is that those serving in the army receive a 10% discount. Just like seniors and families adopting orphaned dogs.
Copyright in the USA is complicated. Large corporations repeatedly sue over seemingly trivial matters, allegedly out of fear of losing the rights to the exclusivity of their brand if they allow others to use it.
