Don't block the Rocktober
The Colorado Rockies want to commemorate entry into the World Series by trademarking the month of "Rocktober" But the word is a valued marketing pun with several classic rock stations. Rico Gagliano has more.
Fans at a rock concert lift up the time-honored salute to rock. Another rock tradition, the radio promo month of "Rocktober," might soon take a bow if the Colorado Rockies win a trademark of the word. (iStockPhoto.com)
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Scott Jagow: The World Series gets underway tonight. The Red Sox try to break the curse of not winning a series since . . . oh, uh, 2004. The Colorado Rockies are in it for the first time in 15 years, in their history. People in Colorado are so excited, the state has declared this month "Rocktober," and they've applied to make it a registered trademark. Rico Gagliano looks at what that could mean for the radio business.
Rico Gagliano: Christians have Christmas. Muslims, Ramadan. And classic rock stations have:
Radio Promo Montage: The month of Rock -- ROCK -- Rocktober. KXDG Joplin.
Chris Hayes is program director of KXDG in Joplin, Missouri.
Chris Hayes: Rocktober, which we've been doing for 11 years now -- we play featured artists, we give away special T-shirts, trips to Vegas.
But if the Colorado Rockies have their way, producing shirts and contests featuring the term "Rocktober" could become a trademark infringement.
The U.S. Patent office can't comment on pending applications. But Marketplace's legal counsel, Mitzi Gramling, checked out what other Rocktoberphernalia the team wants their trademark to cover:
Mitzi Gramling: Christmas tree ornaments, billiard balls and cue cases.
Gagliano: Tattoos?
Gramling: Maybe!
Actually she checked, and temporary tattoos are on the list.
Patent office can take a year or more to process an application. Which means the Rockies might not get the final word until next Rockto . . . I mean, October.
In Los Angeles, I'm Rico Gagliano for Marketplace.
