Russel Wright®, American Modern®, Manitoga®, and Kem Weber® are registered trademark of Russel Wright Studios LLC
GUIDE TO ACCEPTABLE USE OF OUR BRANDS, TRADEMARKS, AND OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Questions should be addressed to: legal@russelwright.com
The product designer Russel Wright was the most influential industrial designer of the 20th century. Russel Wright Studios LLC owns the rights to many trademarks, service marks, likeness and copyrighted material worldwide in connection with the work of Russel Wright and others. The name and trade dress of Russel Wright brands are among the best known, recognized and respected in the industry, including such famous brands as Russel Wright®, American Modern®, Manitoga®, and Kem Weber®. Russel’s world-famous signature is also a registered trademark owned by Russel Wright Studios LLC, as is all trade dress - including the American Modern® colors. This page will mostly be of interest to those of you reselling items on-line. This page is focused on the proper use of our brands, trademarks, and other intellectual property in auction postings and on-line usage. If you are interested in purchasing new Russel Wright or Kem Weber products from one of our licensed manufacturers or websites, we suggest that you visit www.bauerpottery.com; www.hkdesigns.com; www.kemweber.com; or our website www.russelwrightstudios.com.
Sellers of new or used authentic products may want to use our trademarks and other intellectual property to help sell and describe their items. We understand that many on-line and auction sellers are loyal fans and avid collectors/traders of our brands and do not intend to infringe any of Russel Wright Studios LLC’s rights when posting items for auction. While it is legal to resell authentic, used Russel Wright or Kem Weber products in their original, unaltered form (except as through normal wear and tear), it is not legal to misappropriate our trademarks, trade dress or copyrights to help sell your items or to suggest that Russel Wright Studios, or any member of the Wright family has authorized or approved your sales. Russel Wright Studios LLC participates in the eBay® VeRO Program and, if your listing infringes Russel Wright Studio LLC’s intellectual property rights, we will request you and eBay to remove your listing from their site as well.
We believe that it is easier to explain our concerns by way of example and are taking this opportunity to describe typical instances in which our trademarks and copyrights are misused or infringed in typical on-line and eBay listings. These examples are by no means exhaustive of the ways in which our rights may be infringed. Any re-publication of our copyrighted images or designs (be it from the catalog, websites or the products themselves) or mis-use or over-use of our trademarks will be removed from the site. Repeat offenders may lose their eBay privileges altogether as well. We, of course, cannot provide you legal advice, but if you have concerns that your proposed listing may violate Russel Wright Studios LLC’s intellectual property rights, it may be best to err on the side of caution.
The following are common examples of on-line retailer and auction listings that raise problems under the copyright and trademark laws.
· Using photographs taken from Russel Wright Studios LLC’s authorized brand catalogs or websites to depict your auction item. These materials are copyrighted and intended only for our use within one of our authorized retail channels.
· Copying our distinctive product designs, trade dress or re-using our products and associated designs to produce your own products. For example, you may not copy a design or trade dress color from any of our American Modern® dinnerware, even if that design or trade dress color use is merely intended to complement the genuine dinnerware. Additionally, you may not copy the recognizable and identifiable trade dress visage and unique configuration of the Kem Weber® "airline chair" and represent it as something other than authentic Kem Weber® furniture. Likewise, you may not use the genuine items to fashion your own products (e.g. nightlights, tiered servers etc.) made from authorized Russel Wright or Kem Weber products, and represented as such. In these cases, use of our product designs infringes our copyrights or trade dress, and use of our trademarks to sell them violates our trademark rights. In addition, our products meet rigorous quality control requirements before they are sold, but are tested for their intended purpose. Russel Wright Studios LLC cannot have its brands associated with products that we do not ensure meet our standards and, because of the use to which they are put, may not perform properly or safely.
· Using Russel Wright Studios LLC’s trademarks to attract buyers to a listing in a way that suggests some sort of affiliation with or authorization by Russel Wright Studios LLC or a member of the Wright family. While it is appropriate when selling one of our genuine, branded items to refer to our brand name in the listing, it is not appropriate for a seller to suggest any kind of relationship with one of our brands. Some general examples include: you may not identify yourself in your store name, domain name, eBay ID or otherwise generally as "Russel Wright Fan," Kem Weber Collector," or "American Modern 4 u." etc. Further you may not suggest that you have any authorized connection to our brands. Over-use of our trademarks in your listing (any use beyond that necessary to adequately identify your item) will have the same effect. A disclaimer disclosing the lack of authenticity of items for sale or lack of association with Russel Wright Studio LLC does not cure the violation of our trademark rights.
· Using one of our brand names in your auction if you are not selling authentic Russel Wright® or Kem Weber® products. If your item was not manufactured and sold by Russel Wright Studios LLC or its authorized licensees, you cannot use our brand name to sell it. For example, using phrases such as "Russel Wright era," "Russel Wright Style," or "Kem Weber Style," Like Russel Wright," or "Like Kem Weber," including but not limited to such phrases as Kem Weber (or Russel Wright) Like – Kem Weber (or Russel Wright) Inspired – Kem Weber (or Russel Wright) Replica – Reproduction "In the style of… by..." etc. in the auction title or item description is not allowed when the product you are selling is not a genuine Russel Wright® or Kem Weber® product. This practice is misleading as it attracts buyers who are searching for authentic Russel Wright Studios LLC goods. This practice also infringes the trademarked Russel Wright LLC brand names by taking advantage of the goodwill associated with our name, as well as exploiting the large investment we have made in our trademarks.
Further specific examples of this includes the mis-identification of the Conant-Ball ModernMates series of furniture as "designed by Russel Wright," or any Conant-Ball Furniture Company furniture attribution to "Russel Wright" other than the "American Modern" furniture line.
· Using a token item from one of our brands to attract buyers to another product you are selling. This includes the sale of an item of a small value (even if genuine) along with the central product you are selling. A token item may include a commemorative U.S. Postal Stamp, coffee cup, plate, catalog, shopping bag, gift card of a small value, etc. By using our brand name to advertise such a sale, listings for the items with which these small value products are paired are misleading to potential buyers who are searching for our branded products. Buyers may also become confused about whether the central item that is offered for sale is our product.
· Using multiple brand names to describe an item you are selling. For instance, you are entitled to identify the single brand that is genuinely associated with the product in your listing. By using more than one trademark to attract buyers to your listing, it is unclear which brand of product you are selling and is misleading.
Russel Wright Studios LLC’s brands and intellectual property are important assets. Many on-line sellers already pay close attention to the principles we have discussed. We hope this Use-Guide is informative so that all listings and offers of classic Russel Wright products on-line will observe our rights and the consumer’s rights.
EMAIL Contact Information: legal@russelwright.com