OH, THAT COULD NEVER HAPPEN, RIGHT?
Say you're reading the paper, and a newspaper contest promises a wild vacation, which readers might not expect to win, and dismiss out of hand. It reassures you that "hey, it could happen."
If you did indeed see this, you would be bearing witness to a crime. Why? Simple. The phrase "hey, it could happen" is not in the public domain. You may not publicly employ it in the commercial world. It belongs to McDonald's.
According to London's The Independent, the company owns "a total of 131 words and phrases." While this includes many invented nonwords such as "McGrilled" and "twoallbeef- pattiesspecialsaucelettucecheesepicklesoniononasesame- seedbun" (yes, all one word), it also includes such not-particularly-unique-to-McDonald's lines like "changing the face of the world."
Don't cross them, or your name might be next. Hey, it could happen.
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