March 17, 2005 'Wannabe' trademark owner didn't want term used for Ashlee Simpson film
TORONTO (CP) - A Toronto woman who owns the trademark for the word "wannabe" says she's the reason the title of an upcoming film starring singer Ashlee Simpson has been changed.
Robin Devine said she trademarked "wannabe" way back in 1985 after hearing her husband say it. "I had never heard anything like that in my life before," she said.
When she heard Simpson was set to star in a movie to be called Wannabe, she called Lion's Gate Films in Los Angeles.
The working title of the film has subsequently been changed to Undiscovered, the title of one of Simpson's songs.
A spokesman for Lion's Gate said Wednesday that he couldn't comment on why the name of the film has been changed, but confirmed Devine had been in touch with the company.
Simpson has said the switch was made because the president of Lion's Gate loved her song.
But Devine said that's not exactly the case.
"The reason they changed the name of the movie was because we couldn't enter into an agreement," she said.
She says that people can use wannabe when they're speaking but can't use it to sell merchandise unless they licence it from her.
Devine says she's used the licence to develop a line of stuffed toys that she sells on request.
