Look around, how many goatees do you see?  Lots, right?  Pretty popular facial hairstyle here in Central New York.  Here's a newsflash......You may owe a Russian man by the name of I.V. Pugash some money. 

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At least he thinks so.  Mr. Pugach says he owns the trademark to the famous facial hairstyle. Further, he claims the beard is meant for the exclusive use of the Russian people and any non-Russian sporting a goatee is committing a form of genocide. He's demanding that all non-Russians pay him $600 for the rights to his goatee-- $30,000 if they are famous. He also feels TV stations should give him $4 million to license the goatee. Back in America, Phil Olsen, who heads Beard Team USA, an organization of American men who promote the growing art of bearding says, "It's hard to trademark something millions of people have." So far no actual lawsuits have been filed by Mr. Pugash and nobody is really paying any attention to his rather ridiculous claims.

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