STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

A White Guy And A Black Guy Are Battling To Trademark The N-Word And People Are Going In On Both

Details behind the plans each has for branding the racial slur.

Back in June, the United States Supreme Court decided to overturn a law that kept people from filing for trademarks of words and symbols that were considered offensive or disparaging. Now, the floodgates have shot open with people who want to call racial slurs theirs.

  • Two men are currently at the forefront of the fight, one white, one black. The white man is a Virginia lawyer named Steven Maynard and according to WUSA 9, he wants to trademark both the n-word and swastika to use as weapons against white supremacy.

    "We want to desensitize it,” Maynard told the news station recently. “We want to provoke questions. We want to spark conversations and not suppress.”

    The black man fighting for rights to the infamous racial slur is Curtis Bordenave of Columbus, Mississippi. According to the Clarion Ledger, Bordenave has filed multiple applications to have the n-word trademarked for commercial use.

    "We plan on dictating the future of how we define this word," he said to the newspaper. "A young, black businessman from Mississippi has acquired the rights to the word. I think that’s a great ending to that story."

    Both men reportedly plan to sell products with the n-word on them, which is actually required in order to successfully trademark a word or symbol. Items that have been discussed include clothing, campaign buttons, mobile apps, alcohol and even toiletries.

    Social media wasn’t exactly on-board with either man and question the ideology behind promoting the word on anything. It’s also hard to process how one can actually “own” the rights to the use of racial slurs on products.

    See some of the reaction below.

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.