Yes, you are missing something. Two things, The Apprentice, and the use of the term "patent" in a non-dictionary-definition way.
Trust me, in pop culture right now, Donald Trump *owns* "You're Fired!" (with appropriate finger pointing motion).
Thanks. I don't doubt he owns the use of the what-ever-it-is phrase, "You're fired." The Italics following my post (#5) are taken from the government agency which registers patents. Whatever Trump owns, it does not fit the Patent Office definition as to what may be granted as a patent.
He probably registered the phrase as a Trademark: "A trademark is a word, name, symbol, or device that is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms trademark and mark are commonly used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks.
"Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. Trademarks which are used in interstate or foreign commerce may be registered with the USPTO."
From the same government website as referenced in #5