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Law is on her side here. She said the catchphrase on television so she has hard proof that she is the originator of the phrase (unless someone can prove they said it sooner). Then Dani B Holdings LLC (apparently the mother started it unless minors can start companies in Florida) applied and was award the trademark and copyright for the phrase so, again the law is on her side here.

Whether someone likes her, that phrase, or how she became popular or not, it doesn't matter. Her family has taken the legal steps to control that phrase and retain the right to monetize it if they wish.

Yep! I agree! When you write a song, you're supposed to have a copyright the moment you write it. I can't see why the same thing wouldn't apply here. :)

Technically, yes, she already had a copyright/trademark on it when it was said. That is why I mentioned she has hard proof that she is the originator of the phrase.

I use the "poor man's copyright/trademark" of mailing myself hard copies of stuff I create. I don't open it though. I put the name of the item inside as the name on the return address portion so I know what it is. If I ever need to make good on it in court, opening it in court becomes the new guarantee that I am protected as the mailing date from the United States Postal Service is entered in court at time of opening of the envelope.

Same thing for her saying this on television. The only thing that could be a problem for them is that Dr. Phil's show try to claim a portion of the proceeds from the catchphrase since it debuted on his show. I am not sure how those talk shows are setup so that may be a mute point but one worth investigating.