Cockygate: The Cocky Trademark Controversy

About this video

(Summarized from the Arabic-language caption track.) Dale covers ‘Cockygate’: romance author Faleena Hopkins, author of the Cocker Brothers series, registered trademarks for ‘Cocker Brothers’ and ‘Cocky’ and personally sent cease-and-desist messages to other authors using ‘Cocky’ in book titles. A screenshot of an alleged message says authors could keep their rankings and reviews by retitling all ebook, print and audio editions, and claims her lawyer advised that a lawsuit would win her all money earned from a title plus legal fees. Dale argues retitling costs publishers time and money for new covers, formatting, marketing and reader recognition, and questions her stated rationale of protecting readers from confusion. Per the USPTO details he cites, her first ‘Cocky’ book was published on 16 June 2016; both marks were filed on 12 September 2017, with the standard character mark registered on 17 April 2018 and the stylized word mark on 1 May 2018, covering downloadable ebook series and book series in romance. He notes speculation that the stylized mark uses a font whose designer said on Twitter he did not grant permission to trademark his work. Responses he points to include a moveon.org petition and letters of protest to the USPTO, including one filed and shared by bestselling author and retired lawyer Kevin Neuberger. Dale warns Hopkins will not be the last author to trademark a common word.

Key takeaways

• Faleena Hopkins trademarked ‘Cocky’ and sent cease-and-desist messages to other authors using the word in titles
• Dale argues forced retitling imposes real cover, formatting, marketing and branding costs, despite claims reviews would be kept
• Per USPTO details cited: both marks filed 12 September 2017; registrations dated 17 April 2018 and 1 May 2018 for romance book series
• Opposition routes mentioned: a moveon.org petition and individual letters of protest to the USPTO
• Dale warns trademarking common words could become a wider publishing-industry trend

Episode details: published May 7, 2018 · 6:25 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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