Mark Kassa
“Welcome to the D” is now the subject of a trademark battle.
Mark Kassa, a West Bloomfield musician, claims he owns the trademark to that expression and is suing in U.S. District Court in Detroit to protect it, Mike Martindale reports in The Detroit News.
He wants to block the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau and Detroit Sports Commission from using the phrase.
Kassa, a member of the band Slight Return, hosts a YouTube channel called “Welcome to the D Show.”
He has filed a number of "Welcome to the D" trademarks patents for clothing, shirts and entertainment services. Martindale writes:
But in October 2012, Kassa said in his suit, without his authorization or permission, the convention bureau and Detroit Sports Commission misappropriated the expression, putting it up on various banners and signs on street lampposts and hotel lobbies around Detroit to promote the 2012 Major League Baseball World Series. And subsequently, to advertise goods and services using “an identical or nearly identical” trademark Kassa said, to his line of clothing.
