 "Photo: JeeYoon Na | Daily Trojan")
Chia Pets, Bowflex and the Magic Bullet Blender are testaments to the fact that one can buy or sell almost anything in this country. Accumulating property is a large part of the ideal of the American dream - a societal nirvana achieved with lots of hard work and just a dash of luck.
Creativity is important, but it usually doesn't translate into riches. A signature catchphrase, while amusing, isn't something one can own.
One man, Robert Burck, hit the jackpot because he wears a Halloween-like costume to work.
Burck is not an inventor or businessman. Nor is he a firefighter, police officer, pilot or anything else that might be categorized as a life threatening occupation.
But last week, Burck told CNN "[I] basically risk my life on a daily basis to build my own American dream."
For 10 years, Burck's livelihood has depended on his shtick as Times Square's Naked Cowboy. Through rain, shine, snow or sleet he sings on a street corner wearing nothing but a cowboy hat, white briefs and cowboy boots while strumming his strategically placed guitar.
Last week, Burck sued Mars Inc. for $6 million after one of its advertisement featured a blue M&M playing a guitar and wearing, you guessed it, nothing but a cowboy hat, briefs and boots.
The suit has caused many to snicker, but legal analysts say Burck has a strong case. The Naked Cowboy name and likeness are his registered trademarks, and he didn't grant Mars permission to use them.
When asked what the ideal outcome of the ordeal would be, Burck said, "$100 million would be good in terms of the punitive damages and making it clear to America and the world that America is still a place where a man can individually create the American dream."
Heaven help us all if stupidly standing outside nearly naked in inclement weather should become the new face of the American dream.
Americans would like to think that their namesake dream isn't just about a fat paycheck. It's nice to believe that here in America, wealth is simply a byproduct of freedom, hard work, entrepreneurship, ingenuity and opportunity. Someone whose sole purpose is to act as a tourist's photo op in Times Square shouldn't make the cut. And if by some miracle he does make it, he is a figure to be resented.
But Burck has beaten the system. He had an idea (however ridiculous), and trademark laws have allowed him to own the Naked Cowboy name and image. Mars used it in an attempt to increase M&M's sales without giving him a cent, and they'll have to pay up.
Wealth has always been implicit in the American dream, but the Naked Cowboy lawsuit serves as a reminder that not all of this property can be locked in a safe - or hung in a closet.
Trademarks make it possible to own intangible ideas, phrases, color combinations, images and, most importantly, the resulting income from them.
Of course, Burck is not the first to profit from the ownership of an intangible concept.
Food Network star Emeril Lagasse rose to fame with his big personality and frequent exclamations of "Bam!" His company, Emeril's Food of Love Productions, had rights to his signature phrase (with the exclamation mark).
On Tuesday, Martha Stewart Living bought the rights to Lagasse' franchise of cookbooks, television shows and cooking accessories for $50 million.
And in a case that tops even Burck's lawsuit, Paris Hilton sued Hallmark in September for using her catchphrase "that's hot" along with her likeness on a greeting card. The outcome of this case is yet to be decided, but "that's hot" became Hilton's federally registered trademark, and consequently her property, in February 2007.
As Hilton's and Burck's infamous trademark cases prove, the list of things one can own in this country spans far beyond houses and cars.
It is indeed possible to fulfill the American dream with the accumulation of dubiously defined intellectual property, and Burck's recent scuffle with Mars shows it is possible to make millions on even the most sophomoric of ideas.
Burck is playing by the rules, regardless of whether or not they're respectable. Fight on, Naked Cowboy. Keep doing what you do because - Bam! - that's hot.
- Allison Roy is a junior majoring in English and public relations.
