PROTECTING TREVOR NOAH

Trevor Noah has recently been appointed as the new host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central. The Daily Show is a late night talk and news satire television program which airs Monday to Thursday and premiered in 1996.

The Daily Show has won 18 Primetime Emmy Awards, has a viewership of approximately two million per night and ninety three million households receive Comedy Central in the United States of America alone.

You may be asking well how does this effect Trevor Noah an further how does this relate to brand protection.

Trevor Noah is no longer a South African brand and a comedian that appears at the comedy club down the road. By signing on as the host of this television program in the USA which is broadcasted internationally, his brand has now gone global.

From a protection point of view, trade marks are territorial (i.e. your trade mark is only protected in the country it is registered in). Trevor may have protected his brand/name in South Africa like most celebrities do but he will now have to start protecting his brand in the USA and internationally.

Many celebrities go as far as protecting their image by means of a trade mark and enforce their rights against 3rd parties who unlawfully utilise their brand and image.

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