I have been informed through a rather terse note from my photo site that the name Fluzzie is trademarked by two individuals in California. Understand that when I first used the name that Peter came up with out of the air, I did a search of the trademark database and only found a dead trademark (2000) for a set of stuffed dinosaurs. So I am officially changing the name to Phluzzie and have started the process to trademark that name as mine all mine. I wish Stephanie and her partner all the best with the word and look forward to seeing what they have come up with to attach the name to since it is a cool name.
So now they are Phluzzies and are still for sale.
http://homepage.mac.com/kathodavid/PhotoAlbum42.html
Please make a note of it.
Kathleen
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Hey Kathleen,
What are you getting for the Phluzzies? I just saw the site and they’re hilarious! I’d love to get one for my fiance. (do you think I could get away with a Phluzzie instead of a ring?).
Anyway, do you do custom Phluzzies? I would just love to get a white one with spikey yellow hair.
Well dammit, that just throws my ENTIRE WEEKEND SCHEDULE out of whack! 🙂
Aww, those are soo cute! My daughter will love them. How can I get one?
why do I hear them sing “mana mana…doo doo dadoodooot “
I can tell you all that I got one for my daughter for Chanuka and she loves her. Named her Ruby right away and they have wonderful “conversations”.
Hello. I’ve enjoyed reading this website over the years, so I feel compelled to make a few coments.
First, if in fact your use of the “Fluzzies” name were infringing on Stephanie Schus and Marla Nelson’s rights in the “Fluzzies” trademark, changing the name of your product to “Phluzzies” is quite unlikely to remedy the situation. The reason is that “Fluzzies” and “Phluzzies” sound the same, which makes them confusingly similar. This is a problem because the basic test for trademark infringement is likelihood of confusion.
Second, according to the US Patent & Trademark (“USPTO”) website, Ms. Schus and Ms. Nelson did not start using the “Fluzzies” trademark in commerce until 2006. If you were using the “Fluzzies” name before that (which I believe you were) and if you haven’t changed the way you’ve been using the name, then you likely have prior rights in the “Fluzzies” trademark. Because trademark rights arise from use in commerce and not mere registration, you wouldn’t need to stop using the “Fluzzies” name. In fact, depending on how you were using the “Fluzzies” name, you might be able to prevent Ms. Schus and Ms. Nelson from using “Fluzzies”.
Third, if you try to register “Phluzzies” with the USPTO, you might run into a problem because of Ms. Schus and Ms. Nelson’s registration for “Fluzzies”. When you file your trademark application, it will be assigned to a USPTO in-house attorney called an Examining Attorney. The Examining Attorney will search the existing registrations and pending applications in the USPTO database for anything identical or confusingly similar to “Phluzzies”. If this search turns up the “Fluzzies” registration, the Examining Attorney most likely will not allow your application to go forward because, as mentioned above, “Phluzzies” is confusingly similar to “Fluzzies”. You could try to address this issue by getting permission from Ms. Schus and Ms. Nelson to register “Phluzzies”.
Sorry for the long post, but these are just some issues for you to consider. I don’t mean to suggest that you should get into a fight with Ms. Schus and Ms. Nelson, but I also don’t want you to get taken advantage of.
Finally, nothing in this e-mail should be construed as legal advice.
Hit the “Post” button too quickly. In addition to “nothing in this e-mail should be construed as legal advice”, the last paragraph shoiuld include “If you have any questions about your rights, you should contact a qualified attorney of your choosing.”
The problem is that trademark names have to sound and well as be spelled differently
Could I find out a little more about this trademark database, please? I once tried (a couple of years ago) doing a search on the Trademark Etc. Office website for a coupleof names I had in mind, and it found no matches. Fine. Just to be sure, I then tried a couple of obscure names like, oh, Captain America and Spider-Man and that sort of thing – and it came up with no matches! Obviously, something was amiss. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Go to uspto.gov, click “Trademarks” and then “Search trademarks” in the left sidebar. The New User Search Form is easy to use. A search of “Fluzzie,” for example, gets the live trademark noted in the post above. A search of “Captain America” in quotes or “Incredible Hulk” in quotes gets you the Marvel trademarks. It’s hours of fun for everyone!
Hi Kath,
darn, those things are cute tho’.
I’m a puppet maker & puppetry performer myself – I’ve performed at the Macy’s holiday show for the past 3 years and have a two man puppet show I do in the 5 buroughs for birthday parties – and thus I swung by Peter’s table at the comic-con this weekend a couple of times hoping for a chance to introduce myself and talk puppets for a few minutes – if only ’cause there are so few people one can talk puppets with!
But “all” I got was a few minutes of face time and a couple of signatures from your talented hubby and to see your cute little girl dozing in her stroller after a busy day meeting tv & movie folks.
ah well – maybe next year.
Good luck with the trademarking!
Hi Kath,
darn, those things are cute tho’.
I’m a puppet maker & puppetry performer myself – I’ve performed at the Macy’s holiday show for the past 3 years and have a two man puppet show I do in the 5 buroughs for birthday parties – and thus I swung by Peter’s table at the comic-con this weekend a couple of times hoping for a chance to introduce myself and talk puppets for a few minutes – if only ’cause there are so few people one can talk puppets with!
But “all” I got was a few minutes of face time and a couple of signatures from your talented hubby and to see your cute little girl dozing in her stroller after a busy day meeting tv & movie folks.
ah well – maybe next year.
Good luck with the trademarking!
Hi Kath,
darn, those things are cute tho’.
I’m a puppet maker & puppetry performer myself – I’ve performed at the Macy’s holiday show for the past 3 years and have a two man puppet show I do in the 5 buroughs for birthday parties – and thus I swung by Peter’s table at the comic-con this weekend a couple of times hoping for a chance to introduce myself and talk puppets for a few minutes – if only ’cause there are so few people one can talk puppets with!
But “all” I got was a few minutes of face time and a couple of signatures from your talented hubby and to see your cute little girl dozing in her stroller after a busy day meeting tv & movie folks.
ah well – maybe next year.
Good luck with the trademarking!
Thanks, Jeff!
Pretty site!
http://mature-hairy-pussy.erw1r.info