From my email: someone smart has pointed out that there is a new trademark phrase upon us: “Power to the People”. This newly-trademarked phrase is being touted by their owners in E-Trade ads on CNBC. According to E-Trade’s financial help center, this is the definition of a trademark: “A distinctive name, symbol, motto, or design that legally identifies a company or its products and services, and sometimes prevents others from using identical or similar marks. see also intangible asset.” It was also pointed out that the Black Panthers and SDS are known as the first-users and John Lennon has a copyrighted sound recording of the same name. This phrase, in particular has an important diachronic history of coming into being when oppressed people have felt the visceral or proverbial power of the few upon them – the many. But because a trademark is divorced from that history and progress, “Power to the People” can’t be used/found by oppressed people in the same way again. E-Trade!!! I think there is a clear point of trademark absurdity here.

excerpt DownHillBattle.org