Legal Question in Business Law in California

I sell items online and in my state-California and was approached by someone telling me that I couldn't use "witch made" in my description. Handcrafted items that I sell have this in their description "Handmade and Witch Made" (I present myself to the pagan community as a witch). They said it was their trademark. It's not registered in any database I've searched and can't believe that anyone could actually trademark "witch made". I've used this term since 1996 and so have thousands of others. I could really use some advice on this. Thanks in advance!


Asked on 2/18/10, 3:29 am

4 Answers from Attorneys

Jonathan Reich De Castro, West, Chodorow, Glickfeld & Nass, Inc.

I would start by asking them to prove that they have a registered trademark.

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Answered on 2/23/10, 9:01 am
Gordon Firemark Law Offices of Gordon P. Firemark

I did a little checking, and it looks like they're claiming COMMON LAW trademark rights... having a registered domain (since 2002), etc. Interestingly, the site at witchmade.com doesn't have any products or services listed, only a 'statement' about the use of the TM symbol, etc. So it doesn't look like they're actually using the mark AS A TRADEMARK.

You could probably win a fight with them over this. Please call me if you'd like to explore this further.

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Nothing contained in this message shall be deemed or construed as establishing an attorney-client relationship. The information provided herein is general in nature and should not be relied upon as legal advice. If you require specific legal advice, there is no substitute for custom-tailored advice from an attorney you have hired to represent you. No obligations of any kind are assumed with respect to any matter or question presented. It should also be noted that legal issues are often time sensitive and legal rights may be lost or compromised if you do not act in a timely fashion.

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Answered on 2/23/10, 10:07 am
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

I went to the trademark office Web site at www.uspto.gov and did a basic search for "witch made" (two words). No such mark is registered. Maybe you should consider applying for the mark yourself, assuming you are eligible based on use or intent to use it in interstate commerce. The USPTO may eventually rule that the mark is too generic to be registered, but such a finding could then be shown to others as proof of sorts that claims to exclusive rights in the phrase are not enforceable.

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Answered on 2/23/10, 10:41 am
Bruce Beal Beal Business Law

Also, this "mark" appears to be a "descriptive mark" in trademark lingo, i.e. a mark that describes either the goods or a characteristic of the goods. It is difficult to enforce common law trademark rights for descriptive marks unless the mark has acquired a secondary meaning, which in this case (recent use and no ascertainable products or services associated with the "mark") appears very dubious.

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Answered on 3/03/10, 5:00 pm


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