Comments on: Martha Stewartâ€™s Katonah?

By: Katonah and Proud

Katonah and Proud — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:18:25 +0000

Hick town? Wow! Take a stroll down the Main St in Katonah and you are greeted by lovely art galleries, specialty shops, gourmet food stores, and many other non-franchised businesses. It's a welcome respite from the towns in which one finds a McDonald's next to a Burger King next to a Dunkin Donuts. And so, eventually most towns, like most malls, resemble each other to a large degree. We in Katronah have fought to maintain our unique character and individuality. We have a population of diverse professionals who add their intelligent voice to the towns decisions and help shape our philosophy. We are not inclined to market our name and don't appreciate a high profile celebrity with ties to K Mart marketing it either.

By: Fitz

Fitz — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 19:53:06 +0000

Well my friend, Martha will be using the name "Katonah" on her furnitures and this will soon be forgotten. I do not see what the big upset and turning up the heat is all about based on the context of her trademarking the name.

By: Ac

Ac — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:40:49 +0000

Well I'm offend by the use for furniture. As a Native American I think Martha should have inquire more about the use of the name . I plan to contact several of my friends who are direct desendants of Katonah along with couple of tribal nations to turn the heat up on Martha Stewart.

By: Coral

Coral — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 22:00:36 +0000

Does the trademark request state that the use of the name shall only be used for certain purposes? Such as retail manufacturing? Hmmm… I don't recall the citizens in the town of Durango, CO running about crying fowl over the use of the town's name by Dodge, and I'm pretty sure Dodge trademarked the name for auto use. There are many names that have been used that way and no doubt trademarked for a single use. Hello – Jeep Cherokee? And that the citizens don't want to be known for Martha's furniture? Now they're known for this scene. This is movie of the week material.

By: sue

sue — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 20:31:35 +0000

It seems to me to be short sighted not to block anyone from obtaining a trademark on the name of a town. With such a trademark in place, any future business could be blocked from using the name of the town in their business name. Why can't Martha just use the name just the same way as established businesses like the Katonah Pharmacy do now?

By: Shannon

Shannon — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 15:13:28 +0000

All the different news reports I've read about this story don't mention that she already attempted a couple of filings back in 2005, which eventually became abandoned. Was there the same furor then?

By: Zach

Zach — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 18:50:52 +0000

so Joe – Katonah is far from a "hick" town. Research before you type. The upset over this is not that Stewart is using Katonah, it is that she wants to trademark the name, creating an uneasiness with locals because they don't want to lose the freedom to use the name as they please. also – the Malibu was first put into production in the sixties when trademarking wasn't scrutinized the same as it is today.
In a town where the average price of homes is just under a million, there are people who who have the time and money and nothing better to do than to get upset over little things.

By: Joe Golio

Joe Golio — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 22:51:51 +0000

This is so silly. The residents of Katonah should be happy that Martha is putting their hick-town on the map. Did General Motors have to pay a royality to California when they named their car 'Malibu'? Give me a break! It's funny how everyone wants to pick the pockets of "the rich" like they have a right to do it. Martha came from humble beginnings and built her so-called empire with hard work. And let's not forget that she just made a generous contribution (1 million, I believe) to Westchester Hospital. Nuff said.

By: Ed Josephson

Ed Josephson — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 21:16:44 +0000

Yes, Martha should now generously support such local Katonah institutions as the library, fire department, art museum, community center, etc. And she does not need her boyfriends – Forbes just put her on their list of the richest women in entertainment, with $638 million!

By: Gerald Keep

Gerald Keep — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 20:02:09 +0000

If Martha submits the trademark application then her boyfriends, Charles Simonyi and Edd Townsend, should each donate at least $10 million to the town of Katonah, NY.