Questions about blanks

[Terredax]

If someone is authorized to make a particular kind of blank, what keeps someone else from making the same blank and giving it to friends and family?
Also, what keeps someone from making the particular authorized blank and making pens to sell? Who would actually know, if the blanks are being sold to make the pens for sale?
Is there a specific way to know which blanks are authorized by just looking at them? Do they carry a proof of authorization card or something else?

I am just curious after seeing blanks for sale, that carry a trademark image, in a few places.

 

[Skie_M]

In most cases of trademark violations, it is just that nowhere near enough of those items are being sold to warrant the cost of the trademark owners going out of their way to squash the little guy 4 states away who is making a quiet living making and selling things that are "nearly" obvious trademark violations.

That having been said, be wary about big name sports teams being displayed by name or logo in association with their team colors without the "officially licensed product of" holographic labeling that is needed to be able to sell it legally. Big name sports as in collegiate or professional, generally.


Most big companies don't really care about very minor rip-offs of their trademark, like 4 or 5 employees showing up with handcrafted pens or keychains with the company logo on them ... it's more a question of allowing the employee to display their pride in the company that they work for.


Elementary up to High Schools generally wont care too much about a few items turning up. If you're up front with them and offer them some of the profits of the sale or free samples to give to the teachers for permission to market the items, you may even find yourself a nice little market niche to explore.



You will want to avoid making those kind of offers to the big name sports teams, however. They have all sorts of rules and restrictions that they will enforce on you, in addition to "per item" fees for the official licensing, and trademark permissions. Charging 65 dollars for a slimline just to break even on material costs, before even considering how much you should actually gain for standing at your lathe in labor costs is just ridiculous!

(note, the 65 dollar slimline thing is just a random guess, it could actually be much more)

 

[Terredax]

I think I was misunderstood...

I don't plan to make any blanks, so I'm not concerned about trademark infringement and being hunted down with a cease and desist letter.

I've seen many blank makers that are already authorized or licensed to use the trademarks they use. I'm sure there are many blank makers that are not licensed, and still make blanks. My question is about other makers copying the blanks and making pens to sell or give away. How would one know if they are licensed blanks? I've never seen a blank with a holographic license sticker to accompany the blanks.

If there isn't a way to differentiate the licensed blanks from copies, why bother with the legalities and cost of obtaining the license? If they are already being produced under a license, why couldn't others copy them and not be questioned?

I see trademarks being used to make blanks, whether licensed or not, and suddenly they are available from many sources and makers. I can't believe that many licenses are sold to blank makers.

I enquired about using a company logo for some grips after there was overwhelming interest in the logo. I was quoted from the company that the fee was $3,000 and a percentage of each sale. I almost passed out when I heard that, so it would take many, many blanks to justify that kind of investment, only to discover they don't sell.

 

[its_virgil]

yep..some are doing it the correct way and others not so much.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[Skie_M]

I think I was misunderstood...

I don't plan to make any blanks, so I'm not concerned about trademark infringement and being hunted down with a cease and desist letter.

I've seen many blank makers that are already authorized or licensed to use the trademarks they use. I'm sure there are many blank makers that are not licensed, and still make blanks. My question is about other makers copying the blanks and making pens to sell or give away. How would one know if they are licensed blanks? I've never seen a blank with a holographic license sticker to accompany the blanks.

If there isn't a way to differentiate the licensed blanks from copies, why bother with the legalities and cost of obtaining the license? If they are already being produced under a license, why couldn't others copy them and not be questioned?

I see trademarks being used to make blanks, whether licensed or not, and suddenly they are available from many sources and makers. I can't believe that many licenses are sold to blank makers.

I enquired about using a company logo for some grips after there was overwhelming interest in the logo. I was quoted from the company that the fee was $3,000 and a percentage of each sale. I almost passed out when I heard that, so it would take many, many blanks to justify that kind of investment, only to discover they don't sell.

Quick and easy explanation for what you think you've seen ...

If there's no holographic sticker logo to go with the item to prove authenticity, then it's just not legit.

Those blanks are perfectly legally made in China, or Taiwan, or Japan, or even Korea ... perhaps Singapore or Thailand made them. There's no company that exists in the USA that can prevent them from making those blanks legally and then selling them to whomever they wish online. Other people may see such blanks and note that they are perfect copies of legally owned copyrighted logos and think that it's OK to just make copies for themselves .... and seeing as how they're already being sold online, they think that it's perfectly legal to sell them for themselves, which is a BIG mistake if they are in the USA.

It is the end user's responsibility to cover their own legal "rumpus" when they go out and buy the blank and make something of it to sell it for a profit or give it as a gift. (note, they are MEANT to be given as gifts, rather than be sold and attract the wrong attention) Big name sports team's lawyers can't do diddly to a Taiwanese or other country's company or people, but they can sure sue you for every dollar they assume you could have made off of their legally protected copyrighted logos.



The correct way to do it .... stay away from big name team logos and color combinations. If you want to sell a "red and white" pen that happens to match the team colors of a certain sports team, then go for it ... just don't ever mention that big name team BY NAME to any customers.

If you want to sell team logos and colored pens for Jr High and High School teams, get permission from the school's principal or your local school board (I would suggest both), and if they don't just give you permission outright, then offer them a percentage of the sales.

If you want to sell colored pens in various team colors, then I strongly suggest that the labels state that these are colors of various HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS IN THE AREA that you have permission from to sell pens with their colors and in their names.