Patent office has received 32 trademark requests for ‘covfefe’

by Harper Neidig - 06/15/17 10:53 AM ET

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has received more than 30 trademark requests containing the word “covfefe,” a term President Trump included in a cryptic tweet last month.

The 32 trademark requests include two hashtag versions of the word, two companies seeking to claim the phrase “Covfefe Coffee” and 25 attempts to trademark the word alone.

The requests were submitted both by companies and handful of individuals, including a New York man who wants to use the word to sell “clothing for domestic pets” as well as costumes, footwear, hats and maternity outfits for humans.

{mosads}In the early morning hours on May 31, the president tweeted the message, “Despite the constant negative press covfefe.” He deleted it later that morning.

Many assumed that the tweet was posted by mistake and that “covfefe” was simply a typo.

But during a press briefing hours later, Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, told reporters, “The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant.”

For some reason, the invented word whipped up a frenzy on social media and in the political world.

Last week, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) introduced the COVFEFE Act, which stands for Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement, and would classify social media posts from Trump as presidential records that are required to be preserved.

“President Trump’s frequent, unfiltered use of his personal Twitter account as a means of official communication is unprecedented,” Quigley said in a statement. “If the President is going to take to social media to make sudden public policy proclamations, we must ensure that these statements are documented and preserved for future reference. Tweets are powerful, and the president must be held accountable for every post.”

The day after Trump’s original tweet was posted, a Mississippi man tried to secure the trademark on another tortured acronym of the fake word: “Carry on vigilantly fighting evil for ever.”

Tags covfefe Donald Trump Donald Trump Hashtags trademark