Good Luck With That: Nintendo Wants Trademark "It's On Like Donkey Kong"

"It's on like Donkey Kong". Is that even a cool thing to say? Because I'm pretty sure that assclown with the cowboy hat sings it in 'Honky Tonk Badonkadonk', effectively negating any street cred given to the phrase by Ice Cube in his 1992 classic 'Now I gotta Wet'cha' (I don't even know what that means, Ice!). Huh? The country song actually goes, "Got it goin' on like Donkey Kong"? Respect for you: I lost what little I had left.

Nintendo has found a novel new way to promote the upcoming release of Donkey Kong Country Returns: Filing a request with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark the pop-culture phrase "It's on like Donkey Kong."

It's appeared in various songs, movies, and television shows since then, and is a relatively common phrase in both gaming and non-gaming circles.

Now Nintendo is taking it back, filing a request with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for ownership of the phrase in order to promote the November 21 release of Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii. The company says the phrase points to the status of Donkey Kong as a pop culture icon.

Clever, Nintendo. The ol' "file a trademark application for free advertising" tactic. I like your style. Also, Candy Kong. Maybe you could, I dunno, introduce us sometime. Just sayin', it only looks like there's a banana in my pocket! (It's actually a plantain)

It's On Like A Trademark Application For "It's On Like Donkey Kong" [kotaku]

Thanks to Evil Ares (who I killed in the original God Of War) and RMan Money, who

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