NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Call it the billionaire real-estate mogul versus the potter.
A woman owning a ceramics studio in Glenview, Ill. called You're Fired! says she will fight Donald Trump's move to trademark the phrase, according to USA Today.
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The phrase has become the slogan for Trump's hit TV show "The Apprentice" where contestants vie for the chance to run one of Trump's businesses.
You're Fired owner Susan Brenner, 54, filed for the trademark in 1998 and the filing is listed as "dead," perhaps because she did not pay a renewal fee, but she still plans to claim common-law use to its rights, the paper reported.
Common-law use is often known as "first-in-time," where the first person or entity to use a trademark in commerce is entitled to protection for the use of that trademark.
Brenner told the paper it hurts her feelings when customers suggest her store is named after "The Apprentice" slogan.
So much so that her lawyer sent Trump a letter Tuesday warning the real-estate mogul not to license "You're Fired" merchandise in the areas reached by Brenner's mailing list, which extends to Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin, according to USA Today.
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