KIDS II Patent on tag blankets

[SewMuchLoveQuilting]

I am so sad. Yesterday I was informed that I could no longer sell my tag blankets because of the patent held by Kids II. I am trying to see if other sellers have had modifications that were acceptable, such as cutting the loops so that they would not be a loop ... or sewing the loops closed. It appears that they are quite serious about this patent (though we could all wonder at the common sense of the patent office believing that a loop of ribbon was a new and novel idea).

any successes with modifications out there?

[BestDressedBaby]

I had the same thing happen with my Uggs look-alike booties. I was told that I had to change the name, because the word Uggs was a copyright infringement. But I don't understand why other shops are allowed to use the word Uggs. They don't even call them "look-alike", they outright call them Uggs!

[SewMuchLoveQuilting]

Oh Judy... for Kids II, it is not just the name, but the right to sew loops of ribbon into seams of blankets. I can't believe loops were patent worthy.... but instead of feeling distressed (which I was yesterday)... I am now rethinking my offerings to go in different directions... so who knows. I just am sad that my shop was finally having some success !

[ModernSwitch]

I've seen sewing ribbons shut, and also just leaving them uncut while applying I think it's called fraycheck at the end so that it doesn't frey.

[WilliamsGiftshop]

A patent is a good thing! It protects the original designer's ownership. Isn't that what we all want, being artists?


Plus there is one thing I don't understand about tag blankets.... Must be my age. I am 50. But when my son was a baby, we cut off the tags of all baby things like blankets and such, because there was the danger of the baby putting its finger in the tag and twisting it by accident and thus hurting or even loosing their finger. Babies don't do this anymore....?

[Former_Member]

Hmmm, Kids II must have bought the patent from another company...looks like Taggies, Inc. owned it first. Don't you just love it when big companies come down on handmade sellers like that? they must be really scared no one's going to buy their poorly made crap...

My advice? Take it as a compliment and then take it to the next level. you can't make tags in the blanket, but think of something else you can do; Shapes sewn into the seams or crinkle edges. All is not lost!

[heartsabustin]

Etsy needs to get busy, then. There pages and pages of tag blankets, sensory blankets, taggies - whatever you want to call them. I've made a couple for my baby, but I wasn't planning on selling them anytime soon.

[Former_Member]

With regards to BeaG companies have cottoned on that kids ten to play with the tags more then the product itself. How ever in line with safety you have to have the loops a certain length so as not to be able to twist it and hurt fingers. ( thats what i understand of safety laws here in the UK.

Also it is somones idea if you have a spin off of their idea then OK if not you cant blame the company for wanting to protect their ideas. After all they probably went through the same thing to get their idea of the ground. It comes into the same league as doing disney themed goods or minions etc

[WilliamsGiftshop]

Ah, thanks for explaining, frey!

Kisha, I strongly disagree with what you are implying. If a large company holds a patent it is okay for you to copy it (which is a crime), because you are a small company?
If handmade artists don't even see the value of copyright, patents and trademarks, who will?
You simply don't want to go there.

I DO agree with your advice to come up with your own original products!

[SewMuchLoveQuilting]

I strongly support the ability to protect novel ideas that have been designed creatively by anyone, however, patenting the idea of sewing 2 ends of ribbon between two pieces of fabric hardly seems like a new idea! I understand not using their logo or name or any other item that they designed specifically for their product, ... but I believe with enough money someone could possibly patent the peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

But that said, this will push my creativity up a notch; and that is all for the better. Back to the 'factory'!

[WilliamsGiftshop]

It's not the folded end of ribbon they have patented, I assume. It's the taggy blanket. That once was an original idea. THEIR original idea. And it is protected. Sounds fair to me.

You could never claim to be the first one to have come up with (a commercial version of) the peanut butter and jelly sandwich....
Just like you cannot get a patent on mixing two other bread spreads. Nothing new or original about that.

Also remember that patents, copyrights and trademarks are about commercial use. Not about making your sandwiches.

[ModernSwitch]

The problem is, is it isn't a new idea, it's something that's been around since the 1970's. They never should have allowed the original patent to go through. However it did go through, and the owners have the right to enforce their patent. If however documentation comes up (the pattern printed in a book prior to the patent date) then they could lose their patent, but as far as I know no documentation has ever been found so far yet that proves the idea existed before they patented it.

[WilliamsGiftshop]

I assume they did a thorough research before granting the patent.
You don't get a patent 'just like that'.
And yes, even if something has been done before (but never been exploited commercially), it can be patented (for commercial use) by someone else.
In case it is a different manufacturer than the original: patents can be sold.

[Former_Member]

So what ever happened when you responded To their letter?

[Former_Member]

I just got the same email stating they will take Legal Action against me if I don't remove my "taggie" blankets. Yet this post started in 2014 and still there are thousands of "taggie" blankets on etsy.

Are they just going after a few people who sell them?

I don't want to get into any legal drama, but want to know what happened to the other people that got the same email.

[ModernSwitch]

It doesn't matter what happened to other people. If you got caught, you got caught. You can lose your Etsy shop and it's just not worth it.

It's like speeding.

Is it against the law? Yes.
Do people still do it anyway? Yes.
Does everyone get caught? No.

Sometimes when someone is caught speeding, they get let off with a warning. Other times they can face deep consequences.

Is it worth the risk? Only you can decide.

[Former_Member]

Bronwyn K -- what did you end up doing. I just think this is so crazy. I see that you made some of the tags not looped and some looped. Does This make it acceptable to the patent and allow you to keep selling ?