The Big One Doesn't Always Get Away

Crofton Businessman Moves Quickly to Make a Buck From Snakehead Mania

In the beginning, long before the northern snakehead turned up in a pond next door, there were Ms. America Tennis Balls, bright yellow and bouncy, approved by the U.S. Tennis Association and endorsed by none other than Billie Jean King.

It was 27 years ago that William Berkshire came up with the idea, and they sold like hot cakes on junior tournament circuits. He knew then that he had found his calling.

Forced into early retirement from the Secret Service in 1975 after one of the president's follow-up cars accidentally ran over him, Berkshire learned from his Ms. America venture the value of a good idea and a trademark to protect it.

Since then, the Crofton businessman has given life to Zippy Thing no-calorie citrus drink, Sweetnicks deep-fried sweet potato fries and at least a dozen other trademark products.

But none has had the potential to rival his tennis balls success -- until now.

Northern snakeheads -- the slithering, air-breathing, rapacious fish found this summer in a pond next to Berkshire's property -- are the hottest things since the Jimmy Houston angler action figure. Their discovery by a weekend angler propelled them to international stardom and provided endless fodder for late-night comedy shows and talk radio hosts.

In suburban Crofton, the 350 snakehead T-shirts that Berkshire's adult daughters began hawking from a roadside stand last week are all but sold out, and the waiting list for the next shipment is growing.

"When I took one look at this fish and realized the situation, I could see this was a textbook case for a good promoter," Berkshire said. "And of course, with the amount of publicity this has garnished around the world, my prediction is true.

To protect the franchise that he hopes some day will include snakehead sportswear, snack foods and accessories, Berkshire last month applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for exclusive rights to use "Frankenfish," "Crofton snakehead," "northern snakehead" and "snakehead" on a line of clothing and other merchandise.

"If you're the first one to seek the [trademark] registration, you have in fact" created the name, said Berkshire, "as far as I know."

Under trademark law, individuals or companies can seek exclusive rights to market products using certain words or names as long as they are not overly generic. Berkshire learned this when he first tried to obtain trademark ownership of the phrase "catfish nuggets."

"In the end, it was not unique enough," he said. That hasn't stopped him from pondering the possibility of batter-dipped, deep-fried snakehead nuggets someday.

"From everything I've heard, they're actually quite flavorful and appetizing," he said.

For the time being, it's all his daughters can do to keep up with the demand for snakehead T-shirts.

They ordered their first batch, about 350 in three designs, about a month ago and set up shop alongside Route 301 last weekend. State officials arrived at dawn on Sunday morning to begin poisoning the pond where the invasive Chinese fish were discovered this summer, and the Berkshire family sales and marketing machine was ready.

Berkshire's 8-year-old granddaughter presented Maryland Natural Resources Secretary J. Charles Fox with a commemorative "Frankenfish" T-shirt and proceeded to sell dozens more to his workers after they finished applying the first dose of poisons to the pond.

In the days that followed, the Berkshire family's snakeheadstuff.com Web site has been inundated with orders, and they've gone back to their T-shirt printing supplier to order 500 more -- this time, adding XXL to the array of sizes they're offering.

Somewhere in the future may be snakehead golf club covers, baseball hats, candy and mouse pads, Berkshire predicts.

His daughter Chris Ramsey, who is handling sales and marketing while her sister, Erin Berkshire, manages the books, has lost track of the number of shirts they've sold. Ramsey said it is all she can do to keep up with the demand for snakehead stuff and finish the back-to-school shopping for her children.

William Berkshire, however, couldn't be prouder to see his daughters following in his entrepreneurial footsteps.

"I'm glad to see them making this business effort and experiencing the thrill and the responsibility of being in business," he said. "That's exactly what this country is all about. That's what they're contributing to, and I'm really happy about that."