Je suis a trademark? Slogan-related application just the latest in a growing trend

A trademark application has been filed at the Benelux Trademarks Office for ‘Je suis Charlie', the slogan adopted by supporters of free speech and freedom of expression in the wake of last week’s Charlie Hebdo magazine massacre in Paris. As World Trademark Review has previously reported, trademark filings following tragic events is not uncommon, but this represents a different approach to those we have covered before – the attempted acquisition of a high-profile slogan which has a positive message at its core.