New “Trump Kennedy Center” domains in the hands of comedian-activist

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, serving as a “living memorial” to John F. Kennedy.

Last Thursday afternoon, the Kennedy Center’s board announced it had voted to rename the cultural institution the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” By Friday morning, a full-scale rebranding was already underway, with construction crews in aerial lifts adding the president’s name to the building’s exterior.

Toby Morton is an American comedian, writer, and political satirist best known for his early work on South Park, where he served as a production assistant and voiced the character Scott Tenorman, before later contributing as a writer on MADtv. Over the years, Morton has built a career blending comedy with sharp political commentary, creating animated shorts, parody projects, and digital satire.

More recently, he has drawn attention for purchasing domain names tied to conservative politicians and causes, turning them into parody websites that critique their views through humor. His work sits at the intersection of comedy and activism, earning him both a dedicated following and no small amount of controversy among his targets.

It comes as no surprise that once word of mouth was out about the John F. Kennedy Center’s rebranding last summer, Toby Morton snapped up the domains TrumpKennedyCenter.com and TrumpKennedyCenter.org.

Morton intends to develop these two domains to deliver satirical content—there might be, however, a problem: The Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts owns trademark registrations for THE KENNEDY CENTER. 

As IP attorney Doug Isenberg notes, “[…] the chair of the board is Donald Trump, who is no stranger to filing legal complaints (and, in fact, has filed dozens of UDRP complaints — with mixed results — for many years).”

However, the UDRP includes exceptions from cybersquatting claims for “legitimate noncommercial or fair use” of a domain name.

Says Isenberg:

“A few years ago, I successfully represented the registrant of four domain names that were the subject of a UDRP dispute filed by the estate of a wealthy man who was an art collector and museum operator.

My client claimed that the website he created was a parody, and the UDRP panel issued a decision in his favor.”

The Washington Post’s article about Toby Morton’s registration of the domains TrumpKennedyCenter.com and TrumpKennedyCenter.org expands on the registrant’s intentions and analyzes its potential use.

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