So far there have been a wide variety of answers, sort of confirming
that this is a rather difficult area.
Paul, I was thinking to just use the logo I currently have on my
website but I seemed to recall that there was a problem with it, so
I went back to the Trademark Office website and searched again for
it. In fact, the National League (baseball) once used that same
design for their trademark on baseball caps, etc. The mark is “dead”
now, and I thought that meant I could use it with no problem. But my
lawyer said that just because a mark is “dead” doesn’t mean it’s ok.
We don’t know the reason it is dead. It could be because it was
contested somewhere along the line and so they dropped it. It
doesn’t seem like a good bet for me to try it.
Jenny, you said “I figure some day, after I’m dead and buried,
someone willlook at these initials and try to track down who they
belong to. Will there be success?”
I’m not sure if that was a rhetorical question or not. But how can
there be success if your mark isn’t registered anywhere? And, do you
stamp just your initials or do you also stamp what the metal is?
M’lou, I did find your mark somewhere in my searching. If I could
come up with something I liked, that seems like the way to go.
Trevor suggested I look for a Graphic Designer to help me out, so I
think I may have to do that. (but it seems like I oughtta be able to
do this myself - I’m designing jewelry but I can’t come up with a
simple logo design?? sheesh! frustration, anyone?
I’ve been assuming that it is important to stamp the metal quality
onto your pieces if you want to be taken seriously in the industry
and to become known as making a quality product. And, if you stamp
quality then you must also stamp your Mark. Do you all agree with
this?
Nan, I use a monogram of DW and you can find mine in the on-line
registry. I would suggest that you might use a different font and
try to incorporate a middle initial. I found several examples in the
files of my initials but none in monogram style and just to be sure
that mine was different from those on file, I stated that mine is
DLW and I can decompose the monogram to show those letters, if
required.
There was a previous discussion about stamping the metal quality and
hallmark about a year ago, so you could probably check out that
thread in the Orchid archives. I was checking out jewelry at a Sugar
Loaf show recently and was surprised at how many jewlers had pieces
stamped Sterling but had no hallmark…and I suspect that quite of
few of those were doing buy-sell (against the rules).
Trevor suggested I look for a Graphic Designer to help me out, so I
think I may have to do that. (but it seems like I oughtta be able
to do this myself - I'm designing jewelry but I can't come up with
a simple logo design?? sheesh! frustration, anyone?
If your skills are up to the task by all means go for it! I tried
and discoverd that mine certainly were not. In the end the designer
did a far better job in a few days than I ever could have done,
especially since I wanted the design to have a specific
look-and-feel.
In all fairness what works for metal and stones doesn’t necessarily
apply to printing, website layout, scaling a design up and way, way
down (stamp size) and so forth. What would you say if a graphic
designer suggested that they should, of course, be able to design
jewelry? In my experience assumptions like this often don’t produce
quite the results you hoped they might.
Where is this online registry? I have googled but not found it.
Here is where mine is. I googled department of commerce trademark
and then put in the letters I use. I couldn’t find my way around
very well this time although I looked through the marks about 2
years ago. I’ve also gone into the trademark office (I live in the
Wash., D.C. area) and looked through the files of jewelry trademarks
there. That’s what the lawyers do when you pay them to research what
mark you want to use.