Today, I mourn a loss.
Not a human or pet loss, but that of a beloved product. You see my friends; I made a grave error of
not understanding. I made an error
against TRADEMARK! Who knew-really, WHO
KNEW! But, let’s go through what I’ve
learned!
First, although I have been on TpT now for almost 4 years
(gasp-how!) I have never taken it very serious (see my last post on
MINDSET!) I really haven’t! I’ve created out of necessity or out of
fun. That’s how I started offering
classroom décor. I LOVE scrapbooking and
I totally thought that creating décor was the same as scrapbooking-and, in so
many ways, it is! So I started with
Focus Walls! And they sold, and sold,
and sold! That’s when I thought I’d do a
Star Wars one. I found cute clipart-on TpT-
and bam-sold! I found other sellers
offering Star Wars materials and thought, “I could do that!” Do you see the error? I just followed other sellers. I figured as long as I called it “themed” I
was fine, right. I mean, everyone else
was doing it!
Then I attended the TpT Conference. The first few people I mentioned Star Wars to
seemed to be startled and then they just carried on. No one could really explain to me WHY they
were startled. It just seemed taboo. Ok,
well, I was fine right!?! Then I overheard
a conversation on TRADEMARK! I was at
the tail end of it, so I didn’t get the whole conversation. The seller explained to me that she had taken
down a Polar Express item because she had made an item that violated the
TRADEMARK established by the author!
REALLY, I thought! But yes, his
title and all things involved with The Polar Express, belong to him and if you
violate that trademark, TpT will deliver to you a cease and desist letter! HOLY COW!
I verbalized, “Well, then I’ll take it down when I get one.” Which she so wisely replied, “They only give
you three chances and then they take your store totally down!” I think she knew by my face EXACTLY what I was
thinking because she replied, “I was new once too. I’ve made lots of mistakes!” The saddest part was, I walked away thinking
everything would be ok.
Well, that’s not me.
It ate at me. It picked at
me. Why in the WORLD did I think that I
could just pretend I didn’t hear her!
Today, while reading for my upcoming Bible Study, it really struck
home-I was becoming a slave to the very thing I didn’t want to be a slave
to-money and sales! Even though I am now
more serious about sales and that this is money, I don’t want to do it without
integrity. So, you know what I did next,
I went to the TpT Forums! Yep, even
though they make me jittery because of the endless threads and the not so
direct answers, I went! And there, I
found some basic information on Trademark.
I was in my right mind enough to know to go to the website provided and
do a search! HOLY GOOD GOLLY! Again, not as easy as it should be. But there it was, in black and white, the
endless list of words that show that Star Wars is trademarked, and out of my
store! I began deleting like crazy. Here is what I did.
1. I deleted everything but my bundles, as I know that some
people might need to download that as they were growing bundles.
2. I went into these products, edited them, and posted a notice in the update
area to ask people to download, as I will be deleting them.
3. I priced the bundles at a ridiculous amount and changed the
product description to this:
At this time this product is only still available for buyers
that need to update. I am removing this
product on 7/20/16 due to a new understanding of trademark. I am willingly doing this to comply with laws
and standards, including those of TpT. I
haven't been asked, I just want to have integrity in my store. That is why this is priced at it's current
price-so I don't sell any of these but allow time for buyers to receive what
they have already purchased. Thanks!
4. I went to the old dashboard and chose “See Your Sales and Transactions”. I made a spreadsheet by clicking at the
bottom where it says to make it in Excel.
This is so I have a record of all the sales I have made so that if
someone contacts me, I can figure out something
or some way to get them their purchase.
I can verify that the purchase was made because I put in a date well
BEFORE the items were sold.
5. Then I cried! Yes, I
cried! That was so much work, so much
love, so much put into that product line!
I mean, I LOVE those products.
I’m a complete nerd. But that
love cannot override the right thing to do.
The risk is not worth it. I still
don’t really understand the whole process, but I feel safer to know that the
risk is gone. Now, if only I could get
rid of all those Pinterest pins that are floating around! (I have deleted all that are on my boards and
have deleted as people repin from other sites!
It may take years!)
One more thought, I REALLY thought it would greatly affect
my sales. On the new dashboard it has
deleted the profit. It wasn’t as bad as
I thought. What did that teach me-that I’m
a better seller than my Star Wars line.
That I am succeeding at this thing called TpT! Slowly but surely!
Please share any other information you have on trademark, as I'm still not exactly sure of everything I need to know! Or, share a story you have in the comments below!
