Trademark Dispute Divides Queer Nightlife Providers
1. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably have heard that Thais Rocha is working on opening a new sapphic queer bar in Boston called Dani’s Queer Bar. Rocha also organizes various events around Boston under the labels “Sapphic Nights” and “LGBTQ Nightlife.”
Rocha is not the only person organizing events in Boston. Beth McGurr also organizes events under the label Lesbian Nightlife. It is not entirely clear as of publication exactly how long McGurr has used the label Lesbian Nightlife, but she has operated the domain name LesbianNightlife.com for at least since 2006, according to the Internet Archive. (In comparison, the instagram account sapphicnightss was created in April 2017, so it’s fair to say that McGurr has been doing this for longer than Rocha has been).
McGurr originally applied to trademark the term “Lesbian Nightlife” in 2012, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office. In 2021, McGurr also applied to trademark the term “LGBTQ Nightlife.” McGurr currently owns both trademarks.
On Friday, Rocha started a petition demanding that the trademarks for “Lesbian Nightlife” and “LGBTQ Nightlife” be revoked. “If these trademarks were to be enforced, it would mean that anyone using the term "LGBTQ" or "Lesbian" in relation to nightlife could potentially face cease and desist letters and legal actions,” Rocha wrote.
It is unclear right now whether McGurr has taken any action to enforce these two trademarks. The Bay State Ladybug was not able to get a comment from either Rocha or McGurr as of publication.
2. The amateur linguist in me can’t help but be fascinated by the difference between the words “lesbian” and “sapphic.” The word “sapphic” is a reference to a poet from ancient Greece, but it’s also seen as a modern term that is more inclusive of trans and nonbinary people than the word “lesbian,” which is seen by some people as specifically referring to relationships between two women.
As a notice for one of Rocha’s “Sapphic Nights” events puts it: “Sapphic is an umbrella term for lesbians, bisexuals, pansexuals, trans and nonbinary folks. That is why our party is called ‘Sapphic Nights.’”
My personal thoughts on this trademark dispute: I’m sympathetic towards McGurr wanting to trademark “Lesbian Nightlife” given that she has used the phrase as her brand for over a decade. I am less sympathetic about her trademark of the term “LGBTQ Nightlife.” And this dispute follows a number of high profile instances where businesses have come under backlash for attempting to trademark widely used terms, such as the trademarks for “chili crunch” or “aloha poke.” Certainly the terms “LGBTQ Nightlife” and “Lesbian Nightlife” seem generic enough that it’s possible to wonder whether these terms should be trademarked in the first place.
But what do you think? Is sapphic a more inclusive word than lesbian? Should the trademarks for “Lesbian Nightlife” and “LGBTQ Nightlife” stand? Let us know in the comments.