Blog's Use of a Trademarked Term, What Changes are Necessary to Comply with Request?

[jazzhands1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Minnesota

Background: I own one website and I only publish original content (I write 99% of it myself). Topics include lifestyle tips, DIY projects, recipes, etc. All content is available for free. I don't require registration or any sort of payment.

Issue: Last year I wrote and published a popular article called, "DIY Moby Wrap: How to Make a Baby Carrier for Under $10" There's also a corresponding image that has these words: "How to Make a Moby Wrap Baby Carrier for Under $10"
(FYI, a Moby Wrap is "a carefully measured length of natural cotton with tapered ends." It's used by arranging and knotting the fabric around one's body in a variety of specific designs.)

Today I received the following message:

Hello,

We noticed the following Pin on Pinterest, and on the website BabySavers.com. We wanted to ask you to remove the trademarked name, Moby Wrap. Perhaps you can call it something similar, such as a fabric baby carrier, etc.

We are sorry for any inconvenience. Please let us know if you have any questions.

My questions:
I'm struggling because I understand their request, but the phrase 'Moby Wrap' is important for readers to understand the topic of the article. because I don't know if I need to remove every single occurrence of the phrase "Moby Wrap" to comply with the request and honor the trademark. Can I change the title/phrasing to: "DIY Baby Carrier in the style of a Moby Wrap" or "How to Make a Copycat Moby Wrap Baby Carrier"?

I consider my article somewhat similar akin to the millions of "XYZ-Trademarked-Restaurant's-Specialty-Dish-Copycat-Recipe" or "Recipe in the style of XYZ-Trademarked-Restaurant." that can be found all over the internet. At the same time, I'm not a lawyer and I don't know if THOSE articles are technically acceptable with regards to trademark law.

Bottom line: How much of the title and the contents of the article do I need to change so I'm not violating their trademark?

Thank you in advance! I appreciate any assistance.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Minnesota

Background: I own one website and I only publish original content (I write 99% of it myself). Topics include lifestyle tips, DIY projects, recipes, etc. All content is available for free. I don't require registration or any sort of payment.

Issue: Last year I wrote and published a popular article called, "DIY Moby Wrap: How to Make a Baby Carrier for Under $10" There's also a corresponding image that has these words: "How to Make a Moby Wrap Baby Carrier for Under $10"
(FYI, a Moby Wrap is "a carefully measured length of natural cotton with tapered ends." It's used by arranging and knotting the fabric around one's body in a variety of specific designs.)

Today I received the following message:



My questions:
I'm struggling because I understand their request, but the phrase 'Moby Wrap' is important for readers to understand the topic of the article. because I don't know if I need to remove every single occurrence of the phrase "Moby Wrap" to comply with the request and honor the trademark. Can I change the title/phrasing to: "DIY Baby Carrier in the style of a Moby Wrap" or "How to Make a Copycat Moby Wrap Baby Carrier"?

I consider my article somewhat similar akin to the millions of "XYZ-Trademarked-Restaurant's-Specialty-Dish-Copycat-Recipe" or "Recipe in the style of XYZ-Trademarked-Restaurant." that can be found all over the internet. At the same time, I'm not a lawyer and I don't know if THOSE articles are technically acceptable with regards to trademark law.

Bottom line: How much of the title and the contents of the article do I need to change so I'm not violating their trademark?

Thank you in advance! I appreciate any assistance.

Because Moby Wrap is a registered trademark, the use of it by you in the way that you use it in your article infringes on the right-holder's mark. You can be sued.

I recommend you take the suggestion offered (i.e., calling it a fabric baby carrier) or come up with another way to describe your baby carrier and remove from the article all mentions of the Moby Wrap.

As a note, this is less trademark infringement and falls more under unfair business practices or unfair competition - and possibly dilution.

 

[jazzhands1]

Thank you for your quick response. It's not my intention to cause any sort of problems with the trademark holder, so I appreciate your input. I'll follow your advice.

 

[quincy]

Thank you for your quick response. It's not my intention to cause any sort of problems with the trademark holder, so I appreciate your input. I'll follow your advice.

You're welcome, jazzhands1.

Trademark holders are pretty protective of their marks because, if they allow others to use it, they risk losing all rights in the mark. Trademark holders are responsible for policing the marketplace to make sure their trademark is not being used without authorization. Notices like the one you received are pretty common, and a good way for a trademark holder to handle any unauthorized use of their mark without having to file a lawsuit (which can get pretty costly for everyone involved).

I think you are smart to remove mentions of the Moby Wrap from your article. Those who know of the Moby Wrap will be able to figure out from your article what your inexpensive fabric baby carriers mimic in style.

Your website sounds like a nice one. Good luck with it.