After WeWork unveiled its new corporate brand the We Company, it was revealed the firm was attempting to acquire the trademark ‘we’.
While outlandish, common words can be trademarked if an organization can prove a “distinctive usage.”
“The name was owned by We Holdings LLC, which manages some of the founders’ stock and other assets,” according to a Bloomberg report. “WeWork said it paid the founders’ company $5.9 million for ‘we’ this year, based on a valuation determined by a third-party appraisal.”
Following this news, it was revealed that the company had been paying rent to some of CEO Adam Neumann’s owned buildings.
The company has experienced seemingly back-to-back shocking headlines, but it seems that the press and the public are becoming immune to such reports.
For example, when the Associated Press reported that Uber had the largest quarterly loss ever at $5.24 billion, it did not come across that the company could become doomed in the long run.
Overall, the reporting on these huge, impactful entities that virtually control the vast majority of our economy are being treated at the most basic level. Despite being ill-run and having questionable operations, these giant enterprises are more than simple businesses.