In today’s Times-Picayune, Frank Donze reports on the efforts by Who Dat, Inc. to control the marketing of the phrase it claims it owns. Donze writes:

In the latest correspondence, the Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza law firm instructs store owners to contact Steve Monistere, one of the firm’s principals, “if you wish to discuss a resolution of the claims related to your past usage of WHO DAT and explore the terms for a relationship moving forward.” Monistere recorded the “Who Dat” chant over “When the Saints Go Marching In” in 1983, and then registered a trademark on the phrase.

In January 2010, we ran an interview with Carlo Nuccio, who wrote and recorded the original “Who Dat” with Monistere. In the story, Kathleen McCann wrote:

In 1983, the New Orleans Saints were facing what could be their first year in the playoffs, and Nuccio, a lifelong, hardcore, thick-and-thin Saints fan, was 22. He saw his opportunity. He and his friend Steve Monistere, a musician and producer, decided to take the “Who dat” chant, heard at the time from the St. Augustine High School marching band, and put it to a song.

I doubt the fact that the phrase existed before Monistere got to it entirely invalidates his claim to the phrase’s copyright, but it can’t help. I also doubt that letting “Who dat” be used with impunity for almost two decades without efforts to protect the copyright will be good for his cause.