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Sir Paul <SUP>TM</SUP>

Sir Paul McCartney has applied to trademark his name. Estimates put his profit potential near a billion dollars. And as Diantha Parker reports, it ain't just music he's hoping to cash in on.

TEXT OF STORY

LISA NAPOLI: Sir Paul McCartney has applied to register his name as a trademark. Diantha Parker says it wouldn’t be limited to music.


DIANTHA PARKER: It’s one thing to own the rights to more than 25,000 songs, as Sir Paul McCartney’s music publishing company does.

But now his sights appear to be set on a Paul Newman-style takeover of your kitchen, not to mention your wardrobe and possibly your barn.

William Lozito of the Strategic Name Development corporation says Sir Paul’s star power and clean image would make him a lucrative TM indeed.

WILLIAM LOZITO: I think it could be worth up to a billion dollars. And that’s not an exaggeration.

If approved, the trademark application-means the McCartney name could be attached to items including waistcoats, decorative paper strips for fixing to shelves, artificial coffee and hay.

In Los Angeles, I’m Diantha Parker for Marketplace.

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