Sunday, October 16, 2011

As a matter of fact

          We are taking this opportunity to publicly address some reoccurring issues.  It is now a necessity on our part to set forth the facts. It has continuously come to our attention that misinterpretations of Trademark Law have been given to the general public in regards to our trademark, Thread Bears®.  We would like to make this announcement again--if any person has questions regarding our trademark and the laws behind it, please feel free to contact us.  There is no person authorized to give legal advice or interpretations of trademark law other than a lawyer, or the trademark owner. 
          Certain people have portrayed themselves as being persons of knowledge of this subject. In most cases, this is not so.  Unless they are a CERTIFIED lawyer, or a co-owner of our trademark, they are not one who should be approached on the subject.  Many years ago while communicating to one of these so-called "informants," we expressed that they are not entitled, nor obligated to speak on our behalf of the trademark.  One of these "informants" guaranteed that she would refer, to us, anyone that approaches her with trademark questions in regards to our business.  At that time, we had a mutual understanding that this person would not interfere with our business or trademark concerns on our behalf.  However, this person still has not fulfilled their guarantee.  They have handed out free legal advice to the general public in regards to our trademark, and has not referred a single inquiring person to us.  Use of our trademark by artists of similar products have been publicly encouraged.  It has been claimed that it is a generic term that anyone can use.  However, if it was a generic term that the general public could freely use, why was cancellation of our trademark with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board sought?  This cancellation was denied.  The Board concluded that we own the rights to the term.  Why would they have spent all that time, cost, and efforts of taking legal action in court if it is, in fact, a generic term that anyone could use?
          Thread Bears® became a term that distinctively described our products.  It set us apart from competitors, it aided in distinguishing our business.  We created this title to set our products apart from the common, such as bears made of thread.  Artists associated this name with our products.  Confusion had arisen from the opinions of the so-called "informants" and continuous abuse.
          We have been accused of being jealous of our competitors(without any evidence).  We have continued to conduct ourselves in a businesslike, professional manner.  We have never slandered anyone.  There is absolutely no evidence of this accusation.  Any information presented on our part has all been for clarification--to set the facts straight.

4 comments:

  1. "if it was a generic term that the general public could freely use, why was cancellation of our trademark with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board sought"

    The reason a cancellation was sought, it because you were using your aquired trademark, one you had NOT been using, to clear the field of competition. You stated this as your intent in the beginning when you cancelled hundred of thread bear auctions.

    It was neccesary to try and correct the wrong that was being done in the assignment of the trademark to you and in your swearing to using it as a trademark when you know that wasn't the case.

    Some people still know the truth about what happened and is still happening.

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  2. We have never stated that we wanted to clear the competition. We have never prohibited any artist from selling/making these types of collectibles. We asked people to stop using our Trademark. You made a statement on the Thread Animals Group, and in an email to me, that it wasn’t a registered trademark. The ones that believed you and used it in spite of our warnings had sites and auctions removed—therefore any person who abused the trademark has only you and themselves to blame. So what you are saying is that you/Berta filed to cancel Thread Bears® out of retaliation for having sites and auctions removed? The truth is that you've had your say in court and we’ve won the right to keep it, yet you still won’t obey the law. People wonder why you are involved and what your motive is.
    God says in His word that we must obey the laws of the land. Any person who claims to follow the Lord's leading, yet is breaking the law, needs to consider if what they are doing is something that God would be pleased with.

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  3. I don't remember all that was written in those first few hours after you requested no one use thread bears anymore. I remember there was a lot of angry people and a lot of speculation. At that time it was all completely new territory to everyone. I don't recall the specific email you are talking about and the posts about it were all deleted almost 5 years ago now.
    But at the time you were using "Thready Bears our Little Knotheads" as your trademark and thread bears absolutely was THE description that everyone was using, so I probably stated my opinion as such.
    We were still just trying to sort out WHAT had happened when you joined the group for exactly an hour and half, saw how upset many of us were, left the group and began cancelling auctions.
    I cannot, as you know, speak to Berta's motives. You would need to discuss that with her.
    I posted my letters of protest for the reasons stated in the letter. I was not interested in destroying your business. I was interested in helping the USPTO see the error of what THEY had done in allowing this generic term as a trademark.

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  4. You stated we did not own Thread Bears on your group, when we had owned the registration and tried to tell you. There are artists who remember getting this misinformation from you which lead to their auctions being pulled on ebay. We even gave you a message to give to your members.

    Our business name was Thready Bears at the time, which didn't make Thread Bears a generic term for everyone else--it was still Federally registered.

    Thread Bears was already a registered trademark before thread artists used it in a generic way. You should already know this if you read the USPTO documents.

    I was not speaking of Berta's motives, but yours. In your attempt to 'sort things out,' you went about it the wrong way. To get answers, you must go to the source. Since we are the owners, we are the source. You claim that you had no intentions to destroy our business, yet you continue to malign and encourage abuse. You approach us for the information, but you don't accept the answers.

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