Oprah, Fellow "Aha" User Having a Legal Moment
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Are they telling us that Oprah Winfrey isn't the only one allowed to have an "aha moment"?!
That's what Nebraska insurance company Mutual of Omaha is saying in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court against the queen of daytime's Harpo Productions, which claims it owns the term "aha moment."
Mutual, the self-proclaimed official sponsor of the aha moment, sued to protect its right to use the phrase in advertising after receiving a request from Winfrey's camp to "cease and desist" its ongoing "What's your aha moment?" campaign. According to Mutual's marketing materials, the term refers to "those amazing, uplifting, inspirational moments that changed [people's] lives."
When Mutual tried to lay claim to the term in February, nobody tried to stop them then, the company said.
"The term 'aha moment' has been used widely in the public vernacular for a century," Mutual said in a statement Friday, per the Omaha World-Herald. "Mutual of Omaha's research to obtain its federal trademark uncovered no competing federally registered trademarks, and the trademark application received no opposition."
Harpo spokeswoman Lisa Halliday said that the two sides are hoping to reach an amicable solution.
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