Oprah Winfrey must face lawsuit over ‘Own Your Power’, appeals court

Oprah Winfrey will have to defend in court her use of the phrase “Own Your Power” in her magazine and on her website, a U.S. appeals court said on Friday. Overturning a lower court ruling, the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals revived claims brought by Simone Kelly-Brown, owner of a motivational services business, Own Your Power Communications Inc, who says she owns a trademark on the phrase.

The case should go forward, the appeals court said, because it was possible Winfrey was “attempting to build a new segment of her media empire” around the phrase “Own Your Power.” The court said it was also possible information could come out during the case that would undermine that theory.