Cocky Misbehaving Authors - My opinion (for what its worth)

Wow, where do I start? I don't normally comment on an authors' behavior. My goal is to support authors in their careers by providing a review of their books from my point of view. Then, again, most authors conduct themselves with at least a shred of integrity. Unfortunately, one author has decided to conduct herself in a way that leads me to believe that she has no integrity.

Any of you that have read romance novels knows that there are many descriptive words used in titles and the books themselves. Cocky is one word that is very popular in the world of romance. You see many titles with this word alone. Cocky Doctor, Cocky Prince, My Cocky Cowboy, Mr. Cocky and the list goes on. The problem is when one author, who is obviously pretty cocky herself, decides that she owns the word.

Faleena Hopkins (also Sabrina Lacey) wrote a series called The Cocker Brothers of Atlanta. A lot of her titles have the word cocky in them. Book one of the series was published in 2016. She decided that she wanted to get a trademark on the word cocky.


Here is a copy of her trademark:

Word Mark	COCKY
Goods and Services	IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: A series of downloadable e-books in the field of romance. FIRST USE: 20170605. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20170605IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S: A series of books in the field of romance. FIRST USE: 20170904. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20170904
Mark Drawing Code	(5) WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM
Serial Number	87604968
Filing Date	September 12, 2017
Current Basis	1A
Original Filing Basis	1A
Published for Opposition	February 13, 2018
Registration Number	5458137
Registration Date	May 1, 2018
Owner	(REGISTRANT) Hop Hop Productions, Inc. CORPORATION DELAWARE c/o PSBM 235 Park Avenue South New York NEW YORK 10003
Attorney of Record	Jonathan Pollack, Esq.
Description of Mark	Color is not claimed as a feature of the mark. The mark consists of the wording "COCKY" in stylized form.
Type of Mark	TRADEMARK
Register	PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator	LIVE

Somehow, she has decided that this means she owns the word in any context. Authors are receiving letters demanding that they change the titles of their books. Some of these books were published before hers. This is a misuse of the trademark system. Not only that,  but it takes a lack of integrity for a person to undercut their competition by trying to take ownership of a word that has been around for many years. Your work should be able to stand on its own. Stepping on other authors is a surefire way to piss off the readers. As a reader myself, I personally do not condone this type of behavior. For more information, research this author online. Make sure you take a look at her social pages. Her comments, alone, show a lack of integrity. 

 My blog is here to support real authors by reviewing their work. I will not review the work of authors that bully other authors. I am disappointed that I actually had to make a note not to review this author's work. I will not support her in any way. I will not recommend her work nor will I read it. It is a shame that I have to take a stand like this. I do not enjoy it. I am taking a stand for the authors affected by this (no, I will not name them). 

I would like to direct authors and readers alike to take a look at this petition that I saw online. If you are as disturbed as I am about this behavior, please consider signing this petition. Don't be afraid to let your voice be heard. 

 Cancel Faleena Hopkins Trademark