TAGGIE company coming down on SEVERAL of us...

[PaxTempli]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Utah
I was told to remove my listings from ETSY a handmade craft site where our members are now around 2-3 million. There are hundreds of others that have been told to remove their listings as well. Here is the issue;
I make blankets, blocks, balls, burp cloths, etc with ribbons sticking out of them for babies to play with. This is such a staple with new moms for generations. Our moms were making them & I know thats i irrelevant.

The TAGGIE patent seems to be vague. #RE38782
Can someone help me/us with this. If its possible for her to make it to where NO ONE can sell any object with ribbons on it, this seems asinine, like a patent saying I thread things on strings so no one can ever make a necklace again, or no one can make a purse because someone already has. PLEASE help us clear this up. Thank you

[FlyingRon]

Gripe all you want (and if you look at other crafting forums and the ebay forums you'll find you're not alone. Generally, their argument is admittedly weak, and while it may not hold up in court (I don't know of any actual legal cases regarding this), it's enough to get a lot of sites (particularly ebay if you go there) to punt your alleged infringing material.

[ipatty]

A qualified patent attorney can render an opinion as to whether you are infringing or not infringing on that particular patent. This will give you good faith assurance of moving forward with your product if the opinion concludes that you are not infringing. Patent infringement can be a very serious allegation and it can be very costly in terms of damages. An opinion will help shield you from certain types of damages.

If you need any recommendations for patent counsel, please let me know.

[justalayman]

Originally Posted by PaxTempli

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Utah
I was told to remove my listings from ETSY a handmade craft site where our members are now around 2-3 million. There are hundreds of others that have been told to remove their listings as well. Here is the issue;
I make blankets, blocks, balls, burp cloths, etc with ribbons sticking out of them for babies to play with. This is such a staple with new moms for generations. Our moms were making them & I know thats i irrelevant.

The TAGGIE patent seems to be vague. #RE38782
Can someone help me/us with this. If its possible for her to make it to where NO ONE can sell any object with ribbons on it, this seems asinine, like a patent saying I thread things on strings so no one can ever make a necklace again, or no one can make a purse because someone already has. PLEASE help us clear this up. Thank you

actually, it is not vague. It is merely quite encompassing.


it seems to have been applied to blankets and pillows only. It would seem the other items were not claimed not was the general application of loops. It would seem the patent holder only sought to patent blankets and pillows constructed in this manner.

the reason she was awarded a patent is because the use was unique. Stringing things on a string (your jewelry comparison) is not a unique method of assembling items.

as ipatty states, it may be worth having a patent attorney review the situation and advise.

You may also look in to when the first use of the method was used commercially and seek possible invalidation of the patent due to prior use of the method, depending on the circumstances.