Nintendo Tries to Trademark On like Donkey Kong"

From DailyTech: Nintendo has some of the most epic gaming characters in the history of gaming. The company has been celebrating the 25th birthday of Mario this year and that's not the only popular character the gaming company has in its stable.

One of the old school arcade game classics that gamers grew up playing in the 80's was Nintendo's Donkey Kong. CNN reports that Nintendo is now trying to trademark a pop-culture phrase "On like Donkey Kong." The company has filed for the trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. According to Nintendo the phrase is, "an old, popular Nintendo phrase that has a number of possible interpretations depending on how it's used."

The catchphrase has been uttered in all manner of ways over the years and whether or not the phrase can be trademarked is up for debate. The move to trademark the phrase coincides with the launch of the latest Donkey Kong adventure by Nintendo called Donkey Kong Country Returns on November 21.

It would be easy enough to surmise that Nintendo wants to capitalize on the phrase for marketing campaigns and keep the phrase from being used without some sort of royalty payment. Nintendo could use the money with some very poor quarters recently thanks to the soaring yen and sagging sales in America.

"On Like Donkey Kong" has been uttered in music and on film over the years and has graced the front of many geeky clothing items. Nintendo also used the phrase in a press release for the new Donkey Kong video game writing, "On Nov. 21, It's on like Donkey Kong!"

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