Sony retracts application for “shock and awe”

Wednesday April 16, 2003 at 7:22 am

On March 21, 2003, a US unit of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. submitted an application to the US Patent and Trademark Office to register a phrase for commercial use. What was the phrase? "Shock and awe." Given the Pentagon's use of this phrase during Operation Iraqi Freedom to explain the overall tone of the war plan, Sony's application was immediately met with outrage based on an apparent attempt to capitalize on the Iraq war. Responding to that criticism, Sony withdrew the application. A Sony spokesperson explained that they now felt the application was inappropriate. Too bad they didn't realize that before they submitted it, but the possibility of cashing in on an international conflict overwhelmed their common sense.

jason

Trackback

Comment RSS

If you enjoyed this post, let others know about it.

Please note:

Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your post. There is no need to resubmit.
Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.
Your e-mail address is never displayed or shared, so provide a real one.
Line and paragraph breaks are automatic.
All comments are subject to the rules.
Your browser must supply valid user-agent and referrer data.
XHTML available:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>