Author receiving backlash over ‘cocky' trademark

A prolific romance author in California is facing industry backlash for trademarking the word “cocky,” the first word in many of her titles: Cocky Soldier, Cocky Biker, and Cocky Cowboy.

Other writers have a moniker for author Faleena Hopkins: Cocky writer, according to the New York Daily News.

Rival writers have launched a hashtag war — #cockygate and #freecocky — in a fight to use the word in their works, too. But Ms. Hopkins said the move protects her fans and her business.

"I receive letters from readers who lost money thinking they bought my series," Hopkins tweeted. "I'm protecting them and that's what trademarks are meant for."

In the meantime, more than 20,000 people have signed a petition to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office asking it to cancel the "cocky" copyright, the newspaper reported.