Greta Thunberg seeks to trademark her name to protect against misuse

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has applied to trademark her name and her movement Fridays for Future to prevent them from being misused for commercial reasons, she announced Wednesday.

Thunberg said in an Instagram post that she and the movement “are constantly being used for commercial purposes without any consent whatsoever” for marketing, selling products and collecting money.

“This action is to protect the movement and its activities,” she wrote, adding that, “I assure you, I and the other school strikers have absolutely no interests in trademarks. But unfortunately it needs to be done.”

She added that the movement belongs to “young people” and “can — and must — not be used for individual or commercial purposes.” 

The post also includes a warning against people trying to “impersonate” Thunberg or claiming they “represent” her and the establishment of a foundation to handle money “in a completely transparent way.”

Thunberg entered the international limelight after launching her school strike movement. She has addressed the United Nations and the World Economic Forum and was named Time magazine’s 2019 “Person of the Year.”