"Jersey Shore's" Nicole Polizzi lost a legal hold on her famous "Snooki" nickname after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected her trademark application on grounds that a similar character already beat her to the punch, according to The Smoking Gun website.

Since 2004, the publishers of book featuring a cartoon cat by the name of "Snooky" have retained the rights to the name, which was trademarked for the kids' book "Adventures of Snooky."

Despite the spelling difference of the names, the government office refused the reality star's request to trademark her name for print media because of a "likelihood of confusion" with the animated feline." About The Author: Steven Rogers
Steven Rogers is a senior entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and been covering the reality TV genre for two decades.