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Can I use a cattle brand from the 1800's on a wallet?

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Sea Dub

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Colorado

I have researching old cattle brands, 1800's, and want to make a wallet that has one engraved on it.

These brands are used to mark cattle individually and are typically registered through a local livestock bureau. The purpose is to reduce theft of the animals.

Are these old cattle brands in the public domain and can they be used in decorative ways?
 


quincy

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Colorado

I have researching old cattle brands, 1800's, and want to make a wallet that has one engraved on it.

These brands are used to mark cattle individually and are typically registered through a local livestock bureau. The purpose is to reduce theft of the animals.

Are these old cattle brands in the public domain and can they be used in decorative ways?
Cattle brands are trademarks or "product" identifiers. If the brand is still being used, you might not be able to use it to decorate wallets that you wish to sell to the public. If the brand-holder sells merchandise or if your wallets are leather, the use of the brand could create problems for you. But it depends on all of the facts.

That said, I think you might be confusing trademarks with copyrights. Copyrights protect original and creative works and copyrighted works can enter the public domain in a variety of ways, including through the passage of time. A work (a painting, a photograph, a musical work, a novel ...) that was created prior to 1923 would be free to use as it would be in the public domain in the US (with very few exceptions). A trademark, on the other hand, must be abandoned by the trademark holder, generally through its nonuse in commerce for a period of years, for another to use it without some risk of infringement (again, depending on all facts, because the same or similar marks can also peacefully coexist in the marketplace).
 

Ladyback1

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Colorado

I have researching old cattle brands, 1800's, and want to make a wallet that has one engraved on it.

These brands are used to mark cattle individually and are typically registered through a local livestock bureau. The purpose is to reduce theft of the animals.

Are these old cattle brands in the public domain and can they be used in decorative ways?
Does your state have a Department of Livestock?? They most likely can answer whether the brand is in active use; whether it is still registered but retired; who owns/owned the brand, etc.

If Colorado is a free range state, then livestock brands are still very important and vital to ranchers/owners.
 

Sea Dub

Junior Member
First of all-thank you Quincy and LadyBack 1 for your detailed and prompt reply. I truly appreciate your assistance.

Quincy-so I am clear-is a cattle brand copy written, not trade marked?

If it is copy written, as I understand your response, and produced prior to 1923 it may be in the public domain and free to use. Is this accurate?

I will do detailed research on each brand but want to confirm if it were possible to use these brands.

Once again thank you both for your assistance
 

quincy

Senior Member
First of all-thank you Quincy and LadyBack 1 for your detailed and prompt reply. I truly appreciate your assistance.

Quincy-so I am clear-is a cattle brand copy written, not trade marked?

If it is copy written, as I understand your response, and produced prior to 1923 it may be in the public domain and free to use. Is this accurate?

I will do detailed research on each brand but want to confirm if it were possible to use these brands.

Once again thank you both for your assistance
I apologize for what was, apparently, an unclear post. Your understanding is just the opposite of what I meant to convey.

The cattle brand works like a trademark to identify a "product" (the cattle). So a brand would have protections similar to those provided a trademark holder.

In other words, others cannot use the same brand to identify their own cattle. Likewise, someone cannot use the same brand on other products or services IF the brand-holder markets merchandise under that brand (for example, selling tee-shirts with the brand displayed). A lot of your concerns with creating and marketing wallets with the brand from 1800, then, will depend on whether the brand is still in use and, if in use, if the cattle brand owner objects to your use of his/her brand as your product identifier.

While I lean toward thinking you should not have problems creating wallets with the brand, this is based solely on your posts and without knowing what brand is involved or any other facts. You would need to have these facts reviewed by an attorney in your area to determine better whether your use infringes on another's rights and what the legal risks are that you could face.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Thank you for the thanks, Sea Dub. I will be interested in hearing what you find out.

As an aside, my wife and I went to a cattle ranch in Montana years ago (the Circle something, I think) and the brand for the cattle was also the name of the ranch and it was emblazoned on all sorts of merchandise (tee-shirts, coffee mugs ...). That is why I recommend you carefully investigate the status of the brand.

Good luck. :)
 

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