PREACH IT! Coming soon: 'Jersey Shore,' the brand (TM)

If there’s one thing the “Jersey Shore” kids are all about, it’s keeping it classy. So, naturally, they’re taking steps to make sure nobody else pulls a robbery on their good names. At this hour, three of the seven cast members of the MTV reality show have taken steps to trademark their monikers. (Or, at least, someone close to them has. One of the filings was done by a brother of a cast member -- a guy who owns a porn empire. We’ll let you guess whose sibling that is.)

First we have Snooki, or, rather Snooki (TM). Per Smoking Gun, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi has moved to trademark her nickname. She wanted to apply the trademark in two categories: as a celebrity, for personal appearances, and for published works, namely, books.

(Of course; because when the "Jersey Shore" girls aren’t busy hunting human gorillas on the beach, they cannot be torn away from their New Yorker subscriptions. We hear the producers cut several scenes from the inaugural season of “Jersey Shore,” including a catfight that broke out between Sammi and J-Woww over whether Chinua Achebe should have won the Booker International Prize in 2007.)

The brother of Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino also has made a move to trademark that nickname.

We’ll punt to Smoking Gun for the details:

“A December 28 trademark application (for t-shirts and underwear) was filed by a Las Vegas firm that operates several porn web sites. That business, Naughty Limited, is operated by Sorrentino's older brother Marc, according to incorporation records.”

Words fail us.

Lastly, there’s Pauly D. Oh, sorry: DJ Pauly D. That’s how Pauly prefers to be known when he’s on the ones and twos, and he wants to make sure the U.S. government backs him up on that. He’s filed his own trademark application, for use strictly in the DJ booth.

In related news: You may remember the particularly snarky “Jersey Shore” episode where Snooki stands on a balcony and disses a grenade by yelling, “You don’t even look Italian.” Turns out, Snooki isn’t Italian, either.

-- Leslie Gornstein

Photos: Snooki and the Situation worked the red carpet at the Grammy Awards on Jan. 31, 2010, in L.A. Credits: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times.

Related dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:

PREACH IT! The no-holds-barred 'Jersey Shore' appearance onslaught may see a few bars held

'Jersey Shore's' Snooki on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards

PREACH IT! $5,000 each for 'Jersey Shore' Season 2? Sure, for EACH of the Situation's ab muscles

PREACH IT! Step away from the cameras, Snooki -- we'll find a guy for you 

'Jersey Shore' cast samples the Hollywood lifestyle -- via Golden Globes swag suites

PREACH IT! 'Jersey Shore' fans: Help me shed my Chihuahua shame

PREACH IT! Pass the peppehs, we're going down the shore (the 'Jersey Shore,' that is)

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