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Oh, trademarks. I talk about them a lot on Cutting for Business. Unfortunately for Silhouette Cameo and Cricut sellers who sell their goods – the situation is getting worse. In the last year or so – there have been so many new trademarks applied for and granted that it is hard to keep up. At each All Things Silhouette Conference I hand out a list of common trademarks and some alternatives. I recently updated the list and wanted to share it with you. The first list is trademarks you may have come across before, but many newer ones are listed in the second list.
| Trademark | Alternative |
|---|---|
| Onesie | Bodysuit |
| Koozie | Can Holder |
| Popsicle | Freezer Pop |
| Sharpie | Permanent Marker |
| Frisbee | Flying Disc |
| Shabby Chic | Cottage, Country |
| Tiffany Blue | Blue |
| John Deere tractor color scheme |
Use different colors |
| Lego | Block |
| Quatrefoil | Clover |
The thing about trademarks – more are being added everyday. Here’s a list of newer trademarks that you should avoid when selling your own products.
| Trademark | Alternative |
|---|---|
| Mermaid Life | Underwater Life, Mermaid Lover |
| Milestone Blankets | Memory Blankets, Age Blankets. Creator is seeking patenting and trademarks for the design, but they have not been approved at writing of this post. |
| #momlife, momlife | #parentlife |
| Bride Tribe, Team Bride | A lot of new trademarks related to brides were recently approved. Due to space, I’m not listing all the variations. |
| Motivational Bottle | The design of these popular bottles is also protected. Alternative: Water Bottle |
| Fight like a Girl | Strong like a Girl |
| Country Girl | Country Woman |
| Because Kids. | Kids. |
| Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | No good alternative. |
| Adulting | Being an adult |
| Verse of the Week | Weekly Verse |
| The snuggle is real | Love to snuggle, Snuggle lover |
| Boymom | Mom of boys |
It’s a good habit to always check the TESS database at the United States Patent and Trademark Office before creating a product for sale. For more trademark posts on Cutting for Business, click here.
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Since 2015, Christine Schinagl has been helping crafters start and run craft businesses through her blog, Cutting for Business. As a Silhouette and Cricut crafter herself, she has a unique take on what works and what doesn’t work in the craft business world. She also enjoys teaching other crafters how to create digital SVG designs, available through the Design with Me series.
Elisha
Sunday 2nd of September 2018
Hello, thanks for this informative article! I’m still confused about “Milestone Blanket” as there are many on the market and being termed “Milestone Blanket” seems to be too general as well. Is this term being trademarked and in addition the patent is specific only to certain illustrations? Or is the actual idea of a milestone blanket is being patented? What do you think will be the final outcome on this one?
Thanks!
Christine
Monday 24th of September 2018
Hello! You can use the TESS database to see if "Milestone Blanket" is trademarked. Here are instructions on how to use it: https://cuttingforbusiness.com/2015/10/08/tutorial-how-to-search-the-us-patent-trademark-office-tess-database/. I do not think that the patent for these blankets has gone through yet, so there is no telling what it will encompass.
melanie
Sunday 12th of August 2018
I did a search on Tess for "Let's Get Lost". I made (from scratch) an svgs to sell for personal (not commercial) use. The trademark is for clothing, if I sell the svgs to someone for personal use and they put it on a T-shirt how would I even know? Or should I just say in the listing - some phrases used may have a copy write in place for some uses, such as clothing, and buyers should check the data base themselves before using??
Christine
Monday 24th of September 2018
Hello! You wouldn't know unless someone told you or you saw it for sale. You are welcome to remind buyers to check for trademark issues before selling goods - but if you are selling for personal use, they wouldn't need to check.
Michael Oliver
Tuesday 19th of September 2017
I am looking to use a silhouette of Forest Gump on a bench to promote an item with "Stupid is what stupid does". I have figured out the saying is open to use, I can not determine if I can use the image to market the saying. Please note I am not selling the image, just using it in marketing. here is a link to a like image https://goo.gl/vbMpuv
thoughts?
Christine
Tuesday 19th of September 2017
I'm not an attorney and can't offer specific advice on situations. I'm sorry.
Ingra
Monday 7th of August 2017
Wow! This is scary stuff. Thanks SO much for this post. I've recently been made aware of this topic through a friend of a friend who's issuing cease & desist orders regarding her tshirt. It really makes me want to back off of customer requested items altogether, too. If I have to take the time to research first, that should be factored into my pricing somehow shouldn't it? ????????♀️
Christine
Monday 7th of August 2017
My pleasure! Yes, you'd factor your time into the price.
Chris
Thursday 1st of June 2017
I think Etsy has become a hostile trading place, not friendly to crafters. The trademark warning and store closing to me seems to be a weapon people are using to close out competition to 'protect their sales' vs any trademark infringement. The trademarking of phrases is a little loose and I'm not completely sure Etsy should be shutting people down no questions asked. In my mind you are better off using other solutions like Shopify, WooCommerce, Square or one of the other more independent platforms where you can compete away from the Etsy snipers looking to close you down. I don't condone those that abuse trademark and copyright but those that abuse Etsy's rules are far worse.
Christine
Tuesday 13th of June 2017
Thanks for sharing!