Ever since Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman started making headlines for his prison escapes and subsequent arrests, merch featuring the drug lord has been flying off the shelves. Recently, a menswear brand in Los Angeles said it was "paralyzed" by the demand for its "El Chapo" shirts. "Paralysis by demand" is better than "murder at the hand of a ruthless drug kingpin," so we'd say that guy's probably got the most champagne problem related to El Chapo that we can imagine.
Naturally, today's news that Guzman's "alleged daughter" is trying to get a piece of her dad's marketability by having "El Chapo" officially trademarked should come as no surprise. According to the Daily Mail, Alejandrina Gisselle Guzman Salazar and her mother have been attempting to get the rights for the names El Chapito, Don Chapo, El Chapo Guzman and Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera since 2011. While those were rejected, four trademarks were finally approved for the use of simply "El Chapo" by the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property. So felicitaciones to Alejandrina, and que lastima to the tens of thousands of people whose deaths can be connected to El Chapo's reign of terror.
IMPI reportedly denied the previous requests by stating that approval would go against "good practice and moral order" to the Mexican society that has suffered at the expense of the notorious criminal, but they were apparently totally cool with just "El Chapo."
As of now, the trademarks cover everything from jewelry to toys to piñatas and gym equipment, so anyone hoping to cash in on El Chapo's name will have to ask for his daughter approval. What could go wrong?
