Taggy trademark

Just had it pointed out to me (on another forum) that selling ‘Taggy’ toys is a trademark and I could be in serious trouble for this as its a patented design… has anyone ever heard of anything like this?! Its such a simple idea but according to this poster ‘Taggie’ are quite hot on any infringements, but doing a quick search here there are a lot about, same on other selling sites…

Not 100% sure but I think it is the name “taggy” that you can’t use. As long as your design is unique the actual item is ok to sell (providing it is CE tested) but you have to call it something else. If I was you I would contact your local trading standards office to find out where you stand.

If you google it you can see there are all sorts of discussions and blogs about this incl this link which also lists the patent under which Taggies are filed http://dearrichblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/can-anyone-sell-taggies.html

So if KidsII who own the patent see you (or anyone else) selling something they think belong intellectually to them, then the are within their rights to send you a “Cease and Desist” letter. If you ignore that, they can then take you to court.

At the end of the day, as much as these comfort blankets seem like a simple idea, somebody did invent them and patent them, and they are protecting their idea. As designer/makers ourselves we should respect that.

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Yes it’s Trademarked you can’t use it.

And yes they will protect their Trademark as they invented it and had to pay to Trademark it. They’ve gone after a lot infringers.

They might find you tomorrow or a year from now but do you want to risk losing everything and have that against your business name?

It’s not worth it once you know.

It’s good you’ve found out before they’ve found you and you receive that Cease and Desist notice Although they don’t even have to do that they can go straight to suing you.

Can be frightening when you don’t know.

Theres an awful lot of ‘infringers’ about! It had honestly never occurred to me at all, seems its all a bit of a minefield!!! Time for some rethinks…

Sorry Helen, I think it’s on the folksy list of things you can’t use. Having said that, I do agree it’s a word in everyday use so I can see why it does get used a lot! I think it is well worth going through the list every now and again…

crumbs there is so much I don’t know :frowning: … I didn’t know there was a list of things not to use (could you tell me where to find it please?)… but a quick search on here reveals 73 items matching ‘Taggy’…

I was working in a toyshop when Taggies first came out. The shop owner thought they were a great idea as her son had got a lot of comfort from the feel of a label on his blanket when he was a baby. So we stocked them and they were very popular.
It may seem like a simple idea now, but don’t you wish you’d thought of it first! :slight_smile:

Here’s a quick link
https://folksy.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/58120-copyright
If you go to the bottom of the page it says Folksy Community and under that it says selling on Folksy. Click on that and it take you to a new page, then go to questions and answers, followed by what I can see on folksy, click on ‘what I’m allowed to sell on Folksy’ then click on the copyright page and it’s the 5th item down!
Hope that helps

Thanks for that! Its amazing what you find out…

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I report them each time I see them, remember knowing they were on the ‘can’t be sold on’ list from when I registered on here. Plenty still slip through though.

As a parent, I rather think that the idea that Taggies are the perfect gift for a newborn is a triumph of their marketing, rather than based on any evidence. My sister in law’s first child did like silky labels (she was pre-Taggies), but her second was not bothered at all about Taggies and neither of my two chose a Taggy for their comfort object. Rather, they were more interested in a teddy bear with feet the perfect shape for sucking or a knotted cloth the other could stick their fingers into. Their friends have a similar motley assortment of favourite comfort toys and Taggies are by no means ubiquitous.

Since it is just their marketing that has made everybody think they are essential then I would just leave them to it.

Sam x

My ‘babies’ are now 6ft tall 21 and 18 year olds and I dont remember anything like ‘Taggy’ toys when they were little! Thanks to everyone for their help and comments, its been interesting and an eye opener…

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My brother would literally wear out the labels on his clothes, or a hole in the edge of the bed blanket, so I can understand why they made them. I have found the teddy attached to a blanket a more used newborn gift over the years.

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I don’t think I’d ever give a ‘taggies’ to a newborn those things must be dangerous to tiny fingers and toes getting caught up in the loops.

I made my eldest a dummy clip with a variety of silky tags (actually cut out of old clothes) sewn all the way down it.

He’s an adult now. I’m not sure that Taggy blankets were around in 1998 then but it’s not a totally unique idea is it - if I made something like that all those years ago! Wish I’d trademarked that idea back then - lol!

He still likes silky labels!