Unbelievable!

[TanksHill]

That really does not sound like them..

But just in case,

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Here's the letter they sent. I can see the ones I bolded being trademarked... but urban homesteading is a MOVEMENT, not one corporations' intellectual property. They are NOT the only contributors to the urban homestead movement. I think what they are trying to do is prevent people from presenting the Dervaes' information as their own, without crediting the Dervaes. Which happens a lot all across the interwebs. I think this could have been handled a bit differently, with better results for the Dervaes.

http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2011/02/16/fyi-urban-homestead-trademark-matter/

DERVAES INSTITUTE
Jules Dervaes, Presiding Officer
631 Cypress Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91103
(626) 795-8400
dervaes@dervaesinstitute.org

To Whom It May Concern:

This notice is to inform you of important matters regarding the published works and/or brand names of Jules Dervaes and Dervaes Institute. We are extremely supportive of members of our online communities; fans of our websites, writings and photographs; and others who help to spread information regarding sustainable living. However, we must also guard against the unauthorized use or exploitation of our intellectual property for commercial gain. From the beginning, our work published online and in other media has been copyrighted and trademarked. We have now secured registered trademarks for certain unique names and images. By protecting our intellectual property we are better able to ensure that our work is presented accurately and contributes to our sustainable living projects and educational initiatives.

As you may know, the Dervaes family has been practicing sustainable living in Pasadena, Calif., since 1985. Our work has been documented and shared online at www.urbanhomestead.org and other websites since 2001, receiving national and international media attention. Additionally, we produced an award-winning short documentary film about our project, called Homegrown Revolution, which has been featured at film festivals around the world and on Oprahs 2009 Earth Day television special. Over the last 25 years, our family has created a wealth of intellectual property in the field of sustainable living. Through the Dervaes Institute, we have been committed to freely educating others about the practices and benefits of self-sufficiency.

We realize that your use of Dervaes published words and/or trademarks may have been inadvertent. We are generally able to resolve any such uses without involving our legal counsel. This would require that you update your websites and articles to properly cite our works. For example, the writings of Jules Dervaes about sustainable living are original protected works in which Dervaes owns exclusive rights. Content from the Dervaes websites, including text and photographs, are also protected works.

When using Dervaes materials, the proper way to go about it is as follows:

Only use a small sample of our work in any single instance;
Copy the portion used in its entirety do not paraphrase or extract portions of images or paragraphs;
Make it clear by using quotation marks or different font size or color that the Dervaes materials referenced are from another source;
Include a prominent link or reference to the original source of the content used on a Dervaes website.
In addition, Dervaes Institute owns numerous trademarks which should be properly acknowledged if used. These protected names and images include the following registered trademarks:

URBAN HOMESTEAD
URBAN HOMESTEADING
PATH TO FREEDOM
GROW THE FUTURE
HOMEGROWN REVOLUTION
FREEDOM GARDENS
LITTLE HOMESTEAD IN THE CITY
Also, THE TEN ELEMENTS OF URBAN HOMSTEADING copyright has been filed with the Library of Congress.
If your use of one of these phrases is not to specifically identify products or services from the Dervaes Institute, then it would be proper to use generic terms to replace the registered trademark you are using. For example, when discussing general homesteading or other peoples projects, they should be referred to using terms such as modern homesteading, urban sustainability projects, or similar descriptions.

When using a phrase listed above to refer to the work of the Dervaes Institute, proper trademark usage should include the proper trademark notice [], use the protected phrase in all capital letters, and note in close proximity that the term is a protected trademark of Dervaes Institute.

Thank you in advance for respecting our legally protected intellectual property rights. If you have been supportive of our ten-year online work in the past, we appreciate very much your continued support.

If you have any questions regarding the use of Dervaes materials or trademarks, please contact us at (626) 795-8400. We would be glad to provide you with more details.

Regards,

Jules Dervaes
Dervaes Institute

 

[Neko-chan]

...

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Hmmm. Well.

I was once involved through a business venture of mine when someone wanted to trademark an industry word that referred to part of the products myself (and many others) offered.

That person actually CLAIMED to own the trademark even though they had really only applied for it. They also sent out "cease and desist" letters from their attorney. They managed to get a few websites that mentioned the term to give them "credit" but ... most of us didn't back down, and did quite a bit of work to prevent the term being taken over. We were actually successful. In that instance, the person didn't coin the term, it was in broad use BEFORE they tried to appropriate it, and they didn't even file properly for the trademark.

I had another similar situation where I was actually threatened just because I personally endorsed a product I believed in through my website, and did NOT sell or offer the product or otherwise have any connection to it. Silly folks ... got mad at me and threatened to sue me just because I said they made good stuff! (I think they were jealous because my website ranked higher than theirs, LOL.)

So ... that has no bearing here. Just saying been there done that, somewhat.

I wonder if these folks really DID coin the term "Urban homestead"? Seems like the rest (from what I saw) are terms they SHOULD be credited with easily enough, though.

And I will say, from doing a little reading around, that their language is NOT what you typically see on letters in defense of trademarks. They are actually being very NICE about it ... from what I've seen.

Now, I dunno why they are really doing it, or if they already have done it or not as they seem to be saying they have, or if they have the right to do it.

To my point of view, it does seem a little silly. "Urban Homestead" has become such a common descriptive phrase, and not referring ONLY to their own. But if they really DID coin the term, I can understand their being interested in trademarking it. Just ... it's kinda late ... like closing the barn door after all the horses have escaped. Who knows what will come of it. Unless there is a lot of money to be made (and maybe even if there is) I can't see it being worth trying to enforce. That is going to take a LOT of effort and legal strife.

The one lady who was trying to shut down part of my business and many other folks, wrongfully ... well, we got together and fought her, and we won.

The other folks, who were insisting I quit talking good about them ... well, I obliged them, and recommended my second-favorite product, one of their competitors, instead. It wasn't worth the effort, since I was an informational website at that time. They shouldn't have done that though ... as I said, my site ranked higher than theirs.

Again, no real bearing on THIS topic.

 

[CrimsonRose]

Ok that list said the term "freedom gardens" was traidmarked??? HOW when freedom gardens was what they called the gardens planted during WWII if my history serves me right... WAY before they started gardening in 1985...

 

[Buster]

Looks like a done deal to me. This from the US Patent Office. Note bolded section:

==========================================================================================================================

Thank you for your request. Here are the latest results from the TARR web server.
This page was generated by the TARR system on 2011-02-17 21:23:00 ET

Serial Number: 77574809 Assignment Information Trademark Document Retrieval

Registration Number: 3855377

Mark


(words only): URBAN HOMESTEAD

Standard Character claim: Yes

Current Status: Registered. The registration date is used to determine when post-registration maintenance documents are due.

Date of Status: 2010-10-05

Filing Date: 2008-09-19

Transformed into a National Application: No

Registration Date: 2010-10-05

Register: Principal

Law Office Assigned: LAW OFFICE 117

If you are the applicant or applicant's attorney and have questions about this file, please contact the Trademark Assistance Center at TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov

Current Location: 650 -Publication And Issue Section

Date In Location: 2010-10-05

LAST APPLICANT(S)/OWNER(S) OF RECORD
1. Dervaes Institute

Address:
Dervaes Institute
631 Cypress Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91103
United States
Legal Entity Type: Corporation
State or Country of Incorporation: California

 

[Buster]

Ok that list said the term "freedom gardens" was traidmarked??? HOW when freedom gardens was what they called the gardens planted during WWII if my history serves me right... WAY before they started gardening in 1985...

Those were "victory gardens".

 

[CrimsonRose]

Ok that list said the term "freedom gardens" was traidmarked??? HOW when freedom gardens was what they called the gardens planted during WWII if my history serves me right... WAY before they started gardening in 1985...

Those were "victory gardens".

yeah but I could have sworn I heard them referred to freedom gardens too... maybe it was just something my grandpa called them...

 

[Denim Deb]

I've heard them called both.

 

[Buster]

These people are getting trounced in the news and blogosphere. And yes, as a matter of fact, they are sending out cease and desist orders and shutting down sites all over the Internet, so they do not deserve our benefit of the doubt. Even Slow Food International is criticizing this conceited, greedy, and ill-advised move.

My favorite quote so far comes from K. Ruby Blume, founder of The Institute of Urban Homesteading in Oakland, CA: "Urban homesteading is a national movement that's happening in every state. The Dervaes family are part of that movement and have done their part to popularize it. But so have many many others. I disagree with ownership of a common use term that belongs to a popular progressive movement. And as long as our projects are distinguishable, why should we not all get to popularize urban homesteading which is a wonderful lifestyle and could save the world."

Source: http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2011/02/urban_homestead_drama.php