the truth?

The owners of the trademark Thread Bears swore under oath that they had used it AS A MARK for five years. There is ample evidence that they did NOT use it as a mark at all, only descriptively until after they acquired the mark from it's original owner.  IF they had been using it AS A MARK before then than they were violating the trademark Thread Bears.  If they were not violating the trademark by using the term "thread bear" to describe their work than neither is ANY ONE ELSE who uses that term descriptively.  This is MY opinion on the issue and cannot be taken for legal advice.

I didn't say it.  My computer did.

Lately a bear maker in Canada was blindsided with accusations of violating the Thread Bear trademark.  Naturally, like most bear makers, she had no idea of a claim that "thread bears" as a description would be considered a violation of the Thread Bear trademark.

I couldn't help but remind the owners of the Thread Bear trademark that before they acquired said trademark from Matt Walsh, they used the term constantly and descriptively. 

They, in turn posted accusations that they have had posts removed from my blogs?  I just wanted to say here that this is false.  I have not had any posts removed from any blogs...nor have I been asked too remove any posts.

I posted because I once again felt that they were doing something unethical. They seem to expect every thread bear maker to know about their trademark AND interpret that as a ban on the descriptive words as well. 

Public record indicates that they themselves had no idea it was even a trademark until they sought a seperate registration for "Thready Bears our Little Knotheads".   Other artists who make bears from thread will naturally call them thread bears...because it is an accurate and in my opinon legal description. 

In my opinon, If they want to "protect" their trademark they should work on building their brand instead of attacking other artists who are not even competition for them.

This is the text of a message I sent to Thread Bears before they started the blog..  They did not respond..and I noticed they did NOT post this one publicly.

Deborah Gibbons Nicholas

• You are right that most of the bear world has moved on, please allow the rest of us to do so by releasing your design on Berta's trademark. Nobody is using Thread Bears any more and it all yours...but as long as you are going after Berta there are still a few who feel that you need to be stopped. If you could allow your compassion to let her operate without constant fear maybe it really could end.

Why the issue is still an issue

If you have been following the "discussion" on "Theoriginalthreadbears.blogspot.com" you know I disagree with the assertion that the term "thread bear" is trademarked.  I believe that they do own the trademark "Thread Bears" that they obtained after using it descriptively for many years.
If using the term "thread bear" descriptively  is violating a trademark, than they themselves violated said trademark before they obtained it. 

I recently was accused by them of violating the trademark in just such a way, so I asked them to please tell me where.  As far as I knew I wasn't using the term, even descriptively, anywhere on the web.

Well a few days later I received this notice.  It is referencing a page on ravelry that I put up over two years ago and completely forgot about.  The pattern is free and I used to sell it on ebay under the term "thread bear" before this whole issue started.

Ironically..the week that this occured, there were three other auctions on ebay using the term "thread bear" which were apparently left alone.

This blog is the personal opinion of Debbie Nicholas. It is meant to explain my opinion on the evolution of the issue revolving around the trademark "Thread Bears". I do not claim to represent them in any way, shape or form. My bears are sold under the name of deBBittybears and I do not use the term "Thread Bears" in any form when selling my product.

In this blog I am expressing my deep feelings and concern over the way that this issue was handled and my opinion on what I witnessed happening. I am no a trademark attorney and make no claims to complete understanding. Please do your own research for further information.

Thanks for reading.

-Debbie Nicholas