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For most
of us, we have a tendency to take our names for granted. Sure,
some complain that they don’t like their name. Some even go so
far as to change it. When a woman gets married, she will
usually take the last name of her new husband.
But how
many of us think about who owns our name? That was a
question this week for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Of the
twenty or so NASCAR drivers who have their names trademarked,
Jr. is the only one who didn’t own the trademark on his own
name. Can you imagine how it would feel to find out that you
were not allowed to use your own name, because someone else
owned it?
How did
that happen? Well, when Jr. first got into racing, his father
took care of all his business affairs. This included his
contract with DEI (which was not even a written contract, but
merely a hand shake and a gentleman’s agreement), his
sponsorship deals, and even his housing arrangements. He lived
in a trailer on his father’s property for many years, and until
recently lived in a house near the DEI headquarters and even
that house is owned by DEI.
Also
included in the list of things his father took care of was the
trademarking of his name. Of course, since his father took care
of it, his father’s name was on the trademark ownership papers.
When Dale Earnhardt Sr. passed away, that ownership transferred
to his estate, and then to his last wife, Theresa.
None of
this seemed to bother Jr, because it was simply a way of life
for him. His father had taken care of most of his business
dealings, and now DEI is taking care of them.
But after
finally moving into his own home, Jr. began to feel a
sense of independence. And owning his own name should be part
of that.
Fortunately for Dale Earnhardt Jr., his stepmother Theresa
didn’t hold ownership of the trademark over his head, like she
could have. It was rightfully hers, and she could literally do
whatever she wanted with it.
But
instead, she did the right thing in this case. It was reported
that she gave the rights to Jr.’s name back to him with no
strings attached. The terms of this “returning of the name”
were not disclosed, so it’s not known at this time if Jr. had to
pay any amount for the rights to his own name, but at least it’s
his in the future.
Of course
Theresa and DEI did hold on to the trademark rights of
Dale Earnhardt Sr’s name, but that’s to be expected. His name
is as much a part of DEI as anything, and the trademark rights
are where they belong.
But Junior
being given the rights to his own name may be the final step in
Junior’s stepping from the shadow of his father and into a light
of his own. He’s already one of the most recognized names in
sports (thanks in part to his family history, no doubt) and now
that name is truly his own.
And it’s
pretty appropriate that the ownership of his name was
transferred from his father’s organization to him on the week
leading up to Father’s Day, when Jr. ran a “throwback” paint
scheme honoring his father and grandfather. Giving him back his
name, in a way, may have been Theresa and DEI’s way of honoring
Junior and his achievements. |
