"Love Your Paws" vs. "Pawz"

[Jordanfisher]

What is the name of your state (AR)?

I made a t-shirt with a big heart on the back of it. This heart contains a design, some shirts have tribal, others paisley, etc. on top the design is a paw is a filled in white paw print. Below the big heart are the words 'Love Your Paws' Another person has a t-shirt that contains a big paw print on the back of their shirt, inside this paw is a design. Below the paw it says 'Pawz'. Am I infringing on a copyright or trademark?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (AR)?

I made a t-shirt with a big heart on the back of it. This heart contains a design, some shirts have tribal, others paisley, etc. on top the design is a paw is a filled in white paw print. Below the big heart are the words 'Love Your Paws' Another person has a t-shirt that contains a big paw print on the back of their shirt, inside this paw is a design. Below the paw it says 'Pawz'. Am I infringing on a copyright or trademark?

You could possibly be infringing on both a copyrighted design and a trademark. Facts matter, though.

Have you been contacted by the "Pawz" owner about your tee-shirt design and the "Love Your Paws" phrase? A notification from a rights-holder that you are infringing is often a clue that you might be.

 

[Jordanfisher]

What is the name of your state (AR)?

I made a t-shirt with a big heart on the back of it. This heart contains a design, some shirts have tribal, others paisley, etc. on top the design is a paw is a filled in white paw print. Below the big heart are the words 'Love Your Paws' Another person has a t-shirt that contains a big paw print on the back of their shirt, inside this paw is a design. Below the paw it says 'Pawz'. Am I infringing on a copyright or trademark?

You could possibly be infringing on both a copyrighted design and a trademark. Facts matter, though.

Have you been contacted by the "Pawz" owner about your tee-shirt design and the "Love Your Paws" phrase? A notification from a rights-holder that you are infringing is often a clue that you might be.

He has threatened me to shut it down, but just on a personal basis no attorneys or cease and desist notices. How could his copyright/trademark cover something so general?

 

[Jordanfisher]

He has threatened me to shut it down, but just on a personal basis no attorneys or cease and desist notices. How could his copyright/trademark cover something so general?

He has no real competition so I feel like he is just trying to scare me away so he has all of the market to himself.

 

[quincy]

He has no real competition so I feel like he is just trying to scare me away so he has all of the market to himself.

It is possible, certainly, that the owner of Pawz, if this is the "Natural Pawz" company you are speaking of, is trying to scare away competition by sending out cease and desist notices with nothing to back them up legally. It is also possible that the personal contact with you was the first step before a cease and desist or a lawsuit.

But here it really matters who exactly contacted you - a company with a federally registered trademark or a small-time artist selling a similarly-designed tee-shirt online.

Trademark holders must be vigilant when it comes to policing the marketplace for possible infringers or they can lose all rights in their marks, and sometimes they may see infringement where none exists. Copyright holders will not lose their rights to infringers but they can lose revenue, so they likewise can be vigilant.

Without seeing the tee-shirts in question, it seems possible (if not entirely probable) that consumers could be confused as to the origin of your goods and believe your "Love Your Paws" is connected with the federally registered company. This could make any warning or cease and desist notice from Natural Pawz a legitimate warning of infringement. Your paws with heart image might be substantially similar to one marketed by Natural Pawz.

With both generic word trademarks and images like hearts and paw prints, it will be the substantial similarity between what is created and used (similarity in the names, slogans, designs), and consumer confusion that is generated as a result, that can create a problem. Otherwise, anyone can use the word "paws" and anyone can draw hearts and paws. Without a personal review of the tee-shirts being marketed and research into Pawz and its products (or into whoever sent you the notice), it is impossible to say if you would be well-advised to cease and desist as demanded or if you can go ahead with your tee-shirt sales without fear of losing an infringement action.

As a note, I haven't done any research into the Pawz company or its products, or researched any tee-shirts being marketed using hearts and paws images.

 

[Jordanfisher]

It is possible, certainly, that the owner of Pawz, if this is the "Natural Pawz" company you are speaking of, is trying to scare away competition by sending out cease and desist notices with nothing to back them up legally. It is also possible that the personal contact with you was the first step before a cease and desist or a lawsuit.

But here it really matters who exactly contacted you - a company with a federally registered trademark or a small-time artist selling a similarly-designed tee-shirt online.

Trademark holders must be vigilant when it comes to policing the marketplace for possible infringers or they can lose all rights in their marks, and sometimes they may see infringement where none exists. Copyright holders will not lose their rights to infringers but they can lose revenue, so they likewise can be vigilant.

Without seeing the tee-shirts in question, it seems possible (if not entirely probable) that consumers could be confused as to the origin of your goods and believe your "Love Your Paws" is connected with the federally registered company. This could make any warning or cease and desist notice from Natural Pawz a legitimate warning of infringement. Your paws with heart image might be substantially similar to one marketed by Natural Pawz.

With both generic word trademarks and images like hearts and paw prints, it will be the substantial similarity between what is created and used (similarity in the names, slogans, designs), and consumer confusion that is generated as a result, that can create a problem. Otherwise, anyone can use the word "paws" and anyone can draw hearts and paws. Without a personal review of the tee-shirts being marketed and research into Pawz and its products (or into whoever sent you the notice), it is impossible to say if you would be well-advised to cease and desist as demanded or if you can go ahead with your tee-shirt sales without fear of losing an infringement action.

As a note, I haven't done any research into the Pawz company or its products, or researched any tee-shirts being marketed using hearts and paws images.

It's not "Natural Pawz" it's just "Pawz". The only place you can really find them is on Twitter. But I have found 3-4 companies with similar designs, wording etc, and these other companies have been around longer than both of us. I have even found one company who has been around for 25 years called "Pawz with a cause" and they use a paw in their logo just like them. So if I'm infringing on their copyright then he is also infringing on their copyright's.

Does that pull any weight in court? Cause that is pretty much like stealing something and then suing someone for stealing that same thing from you.

 

[quincy]

It's not "Natural Pawz" it's just "Pawz". The only place you can really find them is on Twitter. But I have found 3-4 companies with similar designs, wording etc, and these other companies have been around longer than both of us. I have even found one company who has been around for 25 years called "Pawz with a cause" and they use a paw in their logo just like them. So if I'm infringing on their copyright then he is also infringing on their copyright's.

Does that pull any weight in court? Cause that is pretty much like stealing something and then suing someone for stealing that same thing from you.

I can check into federal registrations later but to answer your one question first: "No," the fact that several people are marketing infringing goods does not make the infringement okay and (generally) will not pull any weight in court. The fact that "others do it" tends to be a lousy defense, regardless of the offense.

What pulls weight in court is evidence that the plaintiff has enforceable copyrights or trademark rights in a creative work or a name/slogan/logo and convincing evidence that the defendant has infringed on those rights.

A heart and paws design may be generic enough that anyone can use the design with impunity, as could be the use of the word "pawz." But, again, I would have to do some research into this. I will see if I have some time later to look into this for you. Right now I can tell you that, if someone believes your tee-shirt design infringes on their copyright, they can file a DMCA notice claiming infringement on copyrights and your tee-shirts can be pulled from their place online, unless/until you file a counter-notice claiming you are not infringing.