Looks like rapper Cardi B didn’t get the “Okurrr” to trademark her signature catch phrase.
According to The Blast, the Grammy award-winning emcee was denied her request to trademark “Okurrr” for merchandising purposes. The “I Like It” rapper had applied for the trademark in March, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark officials denied her request due to it being a “widely-used commonplace expression,” that was already in use in popular culture.
Cardi herself has credited the Kardashians for the term after the famous sisters had used the term in a few episodes of Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2017. Court documents also show that many of Cardi’s fans also reportedly filed similar trademark applications before the rapper did.
The USPT officials explained in the documents that Cardi’s famous saying “does not function as a trademark or service mark to indicate the source of applicant’s goods and/or services” and that it does not stand apart from other similar marks.
The “Press” rapper had plans to use the catchphrase on paper goods, such as cups and posters and a clothing line including pants, shirts, and hoodies.
Last April, Cardi explained her use of the phrase on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
“It’s like a cold pigeon in New York City,” Cardi told Jimmy Fallon, making the sound. When asked to describe what the phrase is used for Cardi said, “It depends on the situation that you’re in. Like if somebody checks somebody it’s like ‘Okurrr.’”
Earlier this year, she starred in her own Super Bowl commercial featuring her infamous “Okurrr”