President Trump has affixed his name to skyscrapers, golf clubs and even the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a property honoring an entirely different president.
The Trump brand may now have yet another landing spot: U.S. airports.
Mr. Trump’s family business recently filed trademark applications for potential airport names, records show, an effort to preserve control over the use of his brand. The applications, filed last week with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, staked a claim to three names: President Donald J. Trump International Airport, Donald J. Trump International Airport and “DJT,” the possible airport code.
The application also sought to use the name in connection with a variety of airport-themed merchandise, including luggage, animal carriers and “shoes for protection of airline passengers’ feet during airport security screening.”
The Trump Organization filed the application, a statement from the company said, “because the Trump name is the most infringed trademark in the world.”
The application coincides with Florida Republicans advancing legislation to rebrand the Palm Beach, Fla., airport — which Mr. Trump frequents on his way in and out of his nearby Mar-a-Lago estate — as the “President Donald J. Trump International Airport.”
The Trump administration has also pushed to rename Washington Dulles International Airport after the president.
A Trump-branded airport would break presidential and aviation norms. Other presidents had to wait years after leaving office — or to die — to have airports bear their names. And when other airports are named, a public authority or government agency almost always handles the trademark process, according to Josh Gerben, a trademark lawyer who discovered the Trump filings.
“The fact pattern here is unusual, to say the least,” said Mr. Gerben, who added that he gave “kudos to the person who filed this trademark. It’s very thorough.”
While Mr. Gerben noted that the trademarks could provide a moneymaking opportunity for the president, Mr. Trump’s company has vowed not to charge for the use of his name on the Palm Beach airport.
“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 Trump Organization said in its statement, adding that Mr. Trump was “deeply honored that the people of Florida are considering renaming his hometown airport in his honor.”
The Trumps wanted “to protect the name for Palm Beach County and the state of Florida, thus preventing bad actors from infringing upon or misusing the name,” the statement said.
A person close to the process who was not authorized to speak publicly added that the company had no plans to collect fees from merchandise sold inside the airport. It was unclear, however, whether the Trump Organization would eventually sell Trump-branded luggage and other items on its own website.
The company has made a concerted effort in recent years to curtail copyright infringement, directing manufacturers and retail platforms to halt the distribution of counterfeit merchandise that carries the Trump trademark. Last year, it sued several overseas vendors for selling “inferior imitations” of genuine Trump products, playing to one of the president’s top aggravations: other people making money off his name.
Mr. Trump, a master of self promotion, has for years affixed his name to hotels and golf clubs, vodka bottles and steaks, sneakers and Bibles. But in Mr. Trump’s second presidential term, as he appears fixated on building his legacy, the Trump name has become ubiquitous.
In addition to the Kennedy Center adding the Trump name, Mr. Trump late last year announced the construction of a new “Trump class” of warships that would anchor what he called a “golden fleet” for the U.S. Navy.
And the airport is not the first place that Florida officials sought to put the president’s name. The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners renamed a stretch of road near the airport and Mar-a-Lago as “President Donald J. Trump Boulevard.”
For the airport, it is up to the Florida legislature to first approve the name change, which appears increasingly likely. The Florida House approved it 81-30 this week, over the objections of many Democrats. A similar bill has moved to the Senate floor.
Some of the Democrats’ concerns stem from a recently amended version of the bill requiring a license agreement with the Trump Organization to allow Palm Beach County to use his name for the airport. That change appeared to lay the groundwork for the company’s trademark application.
The Florida bill also stated that the name change was subject to approval by the Federal Aviation Administration. But that is unlikely to be a major obstacle. The F.A.A. is an agency in Mr. Trump’s administration.
Ben Protess is an investigative reporter at The Times, covering President Trump.
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