Trademark Protection Part 1
This is a living story. I believe the term is a blog. Bulletin Log updating the steps and outcomes of a particular journey. This journey is that of trademark protection.
While search my hashtag #houseofjuice I noticed there was a House of Juice sign being made. Letters were in the exact layout of my registered logo and the company just so happened to be located in New York State. For years I had been vigilant about paying attention to my competitors and watching for copycats. I am aware of several House of Juice companies outside of the US on in South Africa and another in Australia. These arrived on the scene at the same time and a bit after I began establishing my claim to the branding. None of us own houseofjuice.com because it has been squatted on and listed for sale at over $4000 for 6 years (at the time of writing this it has dropped to $3,499 ).
In the US there are several companies who have played with the words adding “my” or “the” and mixing the words up. These establishments have not bothered me as the brand manager. In fact a few have reached on and express reverence for my work. They also have not attempted to compete for a name in the market place against my claim. Many haven’t been published in local or national media. They are strictly focused on their hyperlocal audience.
Two years ago when #houseofjuice revealed the hack job looking color version of my logo with a sloppy font change I began the process of preparing to stop them. At the same time I had just had a baby on my own and with my husband taking zero leave to support my maternity leave from business, I wasn’t as fast to the horse races as a man or woman without child would have been. I mentioned my postpartum status because it is used against women in business when matters of timing come into play (more on that in another article). But step by step I began to research and speak with a person I’d trusted my whole life to protect me with her knowledge and connections.
During my recovery period she got her lawyer partner to draft a letter for a cease and desist notice. My struggles with lawyers have run deep in the negligence trench. This lawyer drafted a copyright infringement and not a trademark infringement notice. Then requested payment for a draft that was ill worded and loaded with misinformation. Needless to say in the emotionally wrecked state pregnancy leaves a person in I was not fit to continue down that road which was a fight to fight for the right to fight for my trademark.
I decided to do it myself. I needed time reorganize my every changing life, battle for another trademark and get used to raising 3 humans. By the time summer 2019 came around I was able to focus. I checked again to see if they were still moving forward with my trademark because they had otherwise been silent on media leading me not to jump as it may have been a test or they realized they were infringing just by the share load of published material, ads and social media presence House of Juice already had. However, that was not the case.
A google alert popped up for House of Juice. I was confused. Who published an article on my business? Was it a list or something else. My thoughts raced as I open the link. The image of a white couple claiming ownership of House of Juice and claiming they were the pioneers of the brand. Heartbreak rose within. This went from a business oversight to a white washing of my story and work I had been building for years in New York. I hustled to address it like a decent human being.
I called the establishment and spoke with [Female Owner] (Another issue as my manager shared the same name as [Female Owner] making it even harder for customers to know which business they were calling meaning the process of taking my customers was a touch easier). [Female Owner] was polite and ignorant of business dealings. She told me she only worked the counter and knew nothing else. She directed my attention to [Male Owner] her husband and took my information promising to have him call me back.
I waited and waited to have an amicable conversation about the oversight and offer either time to change their store name or start a licensing arrangement where I’d provide brand guidance, contracts for larger orders and oversee all marketing and advertising. The second being a wining situation for them as I had built a living on the House of Juice brand for over 5 years. No call came in for months so I sent the Cease and Desist letter and waited for their response.
Rather than a call, text, friendly letter or email back [Male Owner] jumped the gun to pull a lawyer out his pocket. The lawyer had sent a notice to an archived email account and not the email listed on the letter. Thus it was lost for a while. When found he claimed he could not find our trademark and his client would continue to use whatever they wanted.
This alarmed me as New York doesn’t even require registration for trademark protection. What is needed is proof of first use and all requested evidence of trademark usage. That is an easy thing to find with social media, local media and websites.
Again with a major move and business growth I had pressing priorities and needed to add follow up with him back to the list with the trademark registration document. With this order of business back on the top of the list I am venturing down this road to see to it that my trademark and work are protected in a number of manners and share with you all how you too can protect your trademark when lawyers could careless.
Next Step: send out another letter with the trademark registration.
