Trump family business files for trademark rights on any airports using
the president's name
[February 18, 2026] By
BERNARD CONDON
NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump family company has filed to trademark the use
of the president's name on airports but says it doesn't plan on charging
a fee — at least for a proposed renaming of one near his Florida home.
Applications filed by the Trump Organization with the federal trademark
office are seeking exclusive rights to use the president's name on
airports and dozens of related things found there, from buses shuttling
passengers to umbrellas and travel bags to flight suits. The filings
come amid debate in Florida over a state bill to name the Palm Beach
airport after Trump and a dispute over funding of a tunnel between New
York and New Jersey that is tied up with proposals that both it and
Dulles International Airport in Virginia bear his name.
The Trump Organization said that the applications were triggered by the
Florida bill and that it didn't seek any profit — only protection
against “bad actors” given that the Trump name is the “most infringed
trademark in the world.”
“To be clear, the President and his family will not receive any royalty,
licensing fee, or financial consideration whatsoever from the proposed
airport renaming,” the company said it in a statement, referring to what
is now called the Palm Beach International Airport near Trump's Mar-a-Lago
club.
The company didn't respond when asked if it would charge royalties for
the use of the name at other airports in the future, or on merchandise
listed for protection in the filings.
Josh Gerben, a trademark lawyer who uncovered the filings over the
weekend, said the applications were the first of their kind he's ever
seen.
“While presidents and public officials have had landmarks named in their
honor, a sitting president’s private company has never in the history of
the United States sought trademark rights in advance of such naming,”
Gerben wrote on his blog. “These are trademark filings that are
completely unprecedented.”
Another break with the past: Presidents usually have to wait for years
after they've left office to get an airport named after them — or die.
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President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive on Air
Force One, at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach,
Fla., Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
 Bill Clinton had to wait 11 years,
Ronald Reagan nine. For Gerald Ford it took 22 years. JFK was
quickest — just one month after his assassination.
If Trump gets his airport, it will join a long line of
organizations, buildings and other public things renamed for him in
recent months including the Kennedy Center performing arts venue, a
road outside Mar-a-Lago dubbed the President Donald J. Trump
Boulevard and a yet-to-built new class of battleships.
The airport trademark applications filed by a family company unit
called DTTM Operations with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are
for the use of three names — President Donald J. Trump International
Airport, Donald J. Trump International Airport and DJT.
The Trump company's claim that it is the most infringed trademark in
the world could not be quickly confirmed.
Gucci has faced tens of thousands of copycat items since the early
1970s when Trump was starting out in Manhattan real estate. Prada
has been active suing companies for years, and Rolex battles fake
watches by the millions.
The family has been on a branding spree in the past year, putting
the Trump name on towers, golf resorts and residential developments
in Dubai, India, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. The company has also been
selling Trump branded electric guitars, bibles and sneakers,
ventures that also fall under the DTTM unit.
In response to criticism that he and his family are profiting off
the presidency, Trump has said that his business is held in trust by
his sons and that he has no day-to-day involvement in the company.
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