LOS ANGELES, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- The late Marlon Brando's estate has filed an application for trademark protection for an array of Brando-related items, the Los Angeles Times said Friday.
Items in the filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office included Brando sunglasses, mouse pads and apparel, including underwear and a kimono. Producer Mike Medavoy, a co-executor of the estate, told the Times the filing is an effort to prevent anyone from profiting from Brando's image without the estate's approval.
"The last thing I'm going to do is do something that cheapens Marlon's image," he said. "You want some sort of blanket protection against anyone doing something that basically goes out and steals his image and puts it on a napkin."
If the trademark office approves the application, the executors of Brando's estate would have authority to license such items as bottle openers, key chains, post cards, gift wrap, calendars and even credit and debit cards.
David Seeley, the attorney for the estate, told the paper Brando had set up a trust to instruct the estate on how proceeds from the commercial exploitation of his image would be distributed among his beneficiaries.
