Trademarks n Lawyers

AJ Drew

AJ Drew

Have trademarks and lawyers become a tool to attack the competition without cause?  According to the guy who started Elixirs of Pain, the people who own the trademark on the company name NW Elixirs sent a cease and diciest order.  Evidently, nobody is allowed to use the word elixir but them.

So I thought,  should trademark the term AJ Sauce and then tell everyone they can not use the word sauce.

 
 
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Seems the OP is on about some hearsay, I'd never call anyone out over that! Who knows what happened or is happening, and why is it our business?
 
The other TM guy we discuss once in awhile makes it all public on his website. I have no problem opining on that.
 
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Yeah, I met Andrew in NY at the NY Hot Sauce Expo. Hung out & drank beers until midnight on Sunday after the show. Turns out he's from the North Bay Area - he's come by my farmers market a couple times when in town seeing family. Helped me get into a store up north without asking. - Great guy.
 
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I'm gonna trademark,copywrite and patent the words and phrase "stop and desist" and everything similar , I'll be rich I tell ya,filthy stinkin rich!!!!
 
Just ask my Lawyers-Slip,Trip and Fall ,my Lawyer firm.....Might be hard to get a hold of them , at times,they are very busy chasing ambulances and doing TV commercials for class action law suites against drug companies..
 
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I look at trademarks anther way - the best protected mark is one you never have to fight over, but t's very helpful if you have it if you do.


Sort of like gun ownership - it is my hope that I am never in a situation where I have to discharge a firearm that is pointed at another human being, but it's very helpful to have it if I do.
 
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Hot Pepper, I do very much think a person should be able to protect their intellectual property.  The hard work you mentioned.  Thing is, when they say nobody else can use the word 'elixir' I think they have crossed the line into attempted theft of public domain property.  I think the start up had every right to use the common word 'elixir' like all these other hot sauces.  Someone has fancy lawyers tell him he can't, a lie in my opinion, and he goes bye bye.

Look at the guys kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/714810375/elixirs-of-pain
 
He raised shit tons of money, started shipping product, got the letter and everything stopped.  People started complaining they weren't getting product.  He left the money sitting there and just sort of bowed out.  Not sure how kickstarter works with refunds, but lots of people very upset.

Here are the first instances of the word elixir in hot sauces that I found.  No way they own the word.  So I figure they are not protecting their hard work, they are negating other people's hard work.  That seems just plain wrong.

Doc Holiday’s Feel Good Elixir hot sauce
Sunfire Elixir Herbal hot sauce
Dragon’s Blood Elixir hot sauce
Zombie Eyeball Elixir hot sauce
Oyster Elixir hot sauce
Elixir Orientem hot sauce
The Elixir hot sauce
 
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I know absolutely nothing of it so will not comment. It's a legal matter and you are relying on internet hearsay.
 
One day when someone challenges your mark, how would you feel if the forums were bashing you in a mob mentality, with no facts even posted?
 
NO COMMENT! 
 
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Maybe the dude got everyone's money on KS and used this as an excuse to rip everyone off.

There are two sides to every coin.

Like THP, I don't know the story, but I do know the chef/creator of NW Elixirs and can personally attest that he's a great guy, who works his ass off and has kick ass hot sauces and excellent branding.

And if he felt his trademark was being infringed upon I believe he has every right to take measures to defend it against that infringement. It is his intellectual property.

Again - we do not know if ANY of this is based in fact, so it is impossible to take a side.

And I'd suggest NOT perpetuating or disseminating what might well be baseless rumors on the Internet to protect yourself from liability associated with defamation.

Oh, the irony :doh:

Ps - as for IP in general, people need to respect other people's property. If someone came out with "Doggone Lucky Hot Sauce" tomorrow, or tried to appropriate "food's best friend" for any class of products, you can bet your bottom dollar that I would go to the ends of the earth to protect it.

It is my creation, and moreover, my livelihood at stake. And it's my property.

If someone came to your house and took your stereo you'd probably stop them, right?

There is zero difference. Your property is your property and you have the right to defend it.
 
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You know you are right.  It is entirely possible the Elixir of Pain guy made up what he claims NW Elixirs lawyers insisted.  What I should have done was provide the quote thus:

"the term 'Elixirs' in association with hot sauces constitutes trademark infringement, unfair competition, dilution, and other causes of action under state and federal law."
 
And then referenced the quote thus: https://www.facebook.com/ElixirsOfPain
 
That way folk would know that I wasn't right there observing first hand.
 
Lucky Dog, I agree with the examples you gave.  Those names are yours.  You put work into establishing those.  Anyone steps on them you need to step on them.  But "elixirs"?  Especially when so many people are already using the term in conjunction with selling hot sauce.  It really seems as over the top as saying someone can not use the word 'sauce'. 

I don't think they have any more claim to the word elixirs than Dave's Gourmet has a right to the word gourmet.   I respect that you feel differently.  Joke follows: After I trademark the word sauce, you will be hearing from my lawyers.
 

 
 
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aj, you still don't know what happened!
 
Both use the word Elixirs, both have old worlde fonts/look, both use the exact same Boston round medicine bottle. YOU DON'T know the details!
 
MAYBE they wanted them to drop Elixirs OR drop the bottle shape. Maybe maybe maybe you don't know what was requested or what was done! Speculation!
 
Their last post was in 2013, they said they were almost done clearing up the legal issues... that's it. You don't know why they never posted again!
 
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Hot Pepper - No game.  I do not know either.  I dont make commercial hot sauces.  It was just a topic.  If the letter is true as reported, it seems more a case of someone trying to steal the pubic domain right to the word 'elixirs' than someone trying to protect their intellectual property.  With so many small businesses here at THP it seemed like a great topic.  You know, what to do when lawyers attack.

On the game thing, guy I sell seeds but refer people to Jim Duffy while saying great things about him.  I grow peppers but have been trashed on for defending some of the things people say Bakers has done.  If I do not play the bad mouth game of my own competition why would I play such games with people who make hot sauce?
 
I am going to guess you have seen a lot of games here on TVP.  Nope, just like conversation.
 
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