What are the rules about putting your name on the knives that you make?

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Superlions123

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Does anyone know what the laws are on placing your name on the knives you make. Do you have to go through any Trademark red tape?

pills11.com ;))
 
Just pick a few ways to have your name on it and then google each one to see if it pops up anything. Like on mine I'm doing J. McDonald Knives and in the font that is in my signature. I checked around and found one guy who has the same first initial and last name as me and is a knife maker but he has a different stamp on his. It's better to put your name on it rather than a logo or company name because then they know its you who made it and not a production knife made like Buck or Case or anything like that. Not to mention that if other people see it they can find you easier. Be proud of your work and put your name on it.
 
The iron clad and firmly enforced rule for putting your name on you knife work is: There is no rule - do what you want - keep it tasteful - keep it non-obtrusive - put your name rather than a symbol of some sort on it if you want people to know who made it.
 
If you just put you name on your knife there is no problem but if you plan to go with a mark a good idea is to check into it. Know there's some government agency that takes care of that but can't think of the name.
 
Once upon a time, a very very accomplished knifemaker, fellow named Fred Carter, told a very very accomplished knifemaker, A.T. Barr, "you can copy anything in my shop but my name"......That is the way it ought to be for all makers......
But if you use some provider's blank, just be really honest with a potential buyer of your "craft-ism" ( I made that word up) Honesty always "trumps" all other things...and it ought to!
If you find that my last comment isn't true about a particular maker, DON"T buy "his knives"......
I am fortunate in that it appears I am the only Fraps in the USA who makes knives, so I just engrave my last name on mine.
I suppose you could go to the trouble and expense to design a fancy maker's mark and possibly get it copyrighted, but I am not aware of any handmade maker who has done that.....
 
I do agree that your name should be on the knife, but there's no reason you can't make it part of a simbol or image. Much like a style, some folks like to be able to recognize a mark on sight. I used only my names, but made them in such a way that it can be recognized symbolicly.

If someone else is likely to have your name, I guess you could check around, or you could just use your name in "good faith". There are books published with most known makers, if you really want to make sure you're not using someone else's mark these might not be a bad start. FWIW, I don't think google is the official "legal" way to determine if your name or mark is already used. I know several makers who can't even use the internet, afterall.

If you just plan to use an image or symbol, you might need to dig a little deep to find out if someone else is using it. Don't know how to search for those things :(
 
If your name is John Smith and there is another maker already marking his knives John Smith, add your middle initial. Just make sure your mark doesn't infringe on another maker's territory.
 
Superlions123 said:
Does anyone know what the laws are on placing your name on the knives you make. Do you have to go through any Trademark red tape?
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If your name is Benchmade, then yes, there will be legal red tape.

You can search all registered trademarks via the Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Electronic Search System. I'd suggest doing some searching and printing your results and keeping those printouts. This way, if you do end up in a conflict, you can show that you made some effort to assure that your chosen mark was not trademarked before you used it, a due diligence defense.

Keep in mind that trademarks generally apply only in the specific market that they're used in. So, if someone has a trademark for your name, but it's not used in a knife-related market, then you're probably ok. If you do find such a possible conflict, it's worth a couple of hundred bucks to have an attorney verify the situation for you; again, this would show that you made a diligent effort.

A trademark costs $325 and you can do the registration process yourself. If you're a serious maker, it'd be a good idea to register.
 
Gollnick said:
Keep in mind that trademarks generally apply only in the specific market that they're used in. So, if someone has a trademark for your name, but it's not used in a knife-related market, then you're probably ok.
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I'm not sure that is entirely true. Didn't wolverine knives and wolverine boots get in a conflict ? Wolverine boots won........no more wolverine knives. I think. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
When Coleman Lanterns bought Western knives some years ago, they sent a letter to custom knifemaker Keith Coleman tellling him he could no longer use his name on his knives.

Keith told them to take a flying leap, and he heard no more about it.
 
Most makers and manufacturers put their namestamp on the left side of the blade near the tang. I don't know why, but that is how its done, and that's how I mark mine as well.
 
Its your knife and your work. Put your name on it. And its good to see posting like this from time to time. Its what this is all about. Thanks again. --------------:thumbup:
 
David Wesner said:
I'm not sure that is entirely true. Didn't wolverine knives and wolverine boots get in a conflict ? Wolverine boots won........no more wolverine knives. I think. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
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It's very situational. In general, two priciples are at work. First, the origin of the word in question. The word "General" is a common English language word and so General Mills, General Tire, General Tool, and General Insurance have nothing to fear from General Electric. Assuming it's not already taken, you could use the tang stamp "General Knife" safely. Xerox, on the other hand, is a made-up word and so Xerox corporation can control is completely. If you were to stamp your knives "Xerox Knife," you could very much expect to loose that fight.

This is why so many businesses these days try to find a nonsensical name. My favorite recenty entry is Qimonda semiconductor. From their website:
"Qi" stands for flowing or breathing energy, while the combination of the English word "key" and the Latin "mundus" is intuitively understood in the Western World as "key to the world" or as we say: "Qimonda." Our name has universal qualities and it reflects our strong global footprint in R&D and manufacturing, our worldwide customer base and our highly motivated employees who are dedicated to becoming the world's leading creative memory company.​
Intuitively understood? Yeah.

Anyway, the second priciple used is that of causing confusion in the marketplace. Does your use of a name or graphical device have the potential to cause confusion in the market? Will people confuse you with the other company?

There is, for example, a company that makes shoes that goes by the tradename Benchmade. Both companies have a trademark on the same word. But, they are in completely different markets, so there is no potential for confusion and, since the word is very close to being the common English word "bench-made," neither really has a case against the other.

Many years ago, the popular musical group The Beatles (whose own name conflicts with Volkswagon's trademark, but they're in different markets), started a record label of their own. For lack of anything better, they called it Apple Records. Steve Jobs started a computer company and, for lack of anything better, he called it Apple Computer. The two have sort of agreed to disagree and be content in separate markets until recently when Apple Computer started to get into the music distribution business and then a licensing deal had to be worked out.
 
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