KLeSueur@AOL.COM on mon 20 may 02
<<.....In 1999 I believe "The Crafts Report" ran a little story about a
ceramic artist who sent a sample lantern to the TARGET headquarters to see
if they would be interested in selling them for him. After a few months they
replied that they were not interested but to his dismay he found almost
exact copies in the stores in the following months, all made in China from
underfired clay. Additionally this supposedly wasn't an isolated incident
because an artist who made really neat purses had the same foreign knock off
problem from TARGET.>>
This problem is not unique to TARGET nor artists. A case that made it all
the way to the Supreme Court involved WAL-MART, who sold a line of kid's
clothing that copied the distintive look of an "innovative designer".
WAL-MART sent photos of the design from Samara Brothers to another garment
maker to create knock-offs. They then sold the knock-offs at a price lower
than the original was being sold for. Samara sued. They lost.
Scalia said that trademark laws are intended to protect consumers and
competition not just manufacturers (you may think you're an artist, but in
the eyes of the government you're a manufacturer). Trademarks protect the
"NIKE" "swoosh" but not the design of the shoe. According to Scalia,
trademark laws come into play only when a design is "likely to cause
confusion....as to the origin" of the product.
So, as long as they don't claim that its a David Hendley pot they can copy
all they want to.
Kathi LeSueur
Fraley on mon 20 may 02
.....Yeah, Target is easy to slam for being a big corporate entity but
the Dayton
family has been a MODEL corporate family.......
I'm not sure model is quite the right word here. In 1999 I believe "The
Crafts Report" ran a little story about a ceramic artist who sent a
sample lantern to the TARGET headquarters to see if they would be
interested in selling them for him. After a few months they replied that
they were not interested but to his dismay he found almost exact copies
in the stores in the following months, all made in China from underfired
clay. Additionally this supposedly wasn't an isolated incident because
an artist who made really neat purses had the same foreign knock off
problem from TARGET.
Since then the "American Crafts project" (a joint force of "The Made
in the USA Foundation" and Wendy Rosen Pres. of "The Rosen Group") was
formed to fight these companies as stated in the October 2000 issue of
"The Crafts Report".
I found this out just before a Target store opened in my home town
and to this day I refuse to walk in the door, I don't care how cool it
is or what's on sale.
Just my two cents,
Toby Fraley
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