SPCA has been
asked by a 'Have a Heart Thru Art', a non-profit organization, to change its name 'Mystic
Krewe of Mardi Paws' to something else because Mardi Paws happens to be a registered trademark since 2002.
Mobile SPCA officials planned the event, in which people and their pets would dress up and march in the Tillman's Tricksters Parade on Jan. 19, to raise money.
'Have a Heart Thru Art' has held pet parades since 1995 and trademarked the term in 1999, president Denise Gutnisky said in a letter sent to Mobile SPCA officials, which she forwarded to the Press-Register.
Gutnisky wrote,
Mobile SPCA President Janine Woods said she would take down the Mardi Paws name from the group's Web site and would rename the parade.Trademark infringement is a serious matter; and we are not at burden to show you did this intentionally. All costs, on both sides, are paid for by the infringer.
Woods said the duplication was an honest mistake. She said,
First of all, it is a trademark issue and not a copyright issue. Secondly, trademark infringement is a big deal.One of our volunteers came up with the name, and we thought it was great. Nobody's going to spend the day researching something like that. Who would have thought somebody would copyright that? It's not a big deal. Oops, sorry.
Granted that most people would commit the same honest mistake she did but the fact of the matter is that trademark infringement is a big deal. They would probably think it is a big deal if someone started another SPCA in that area.
A trademark is a property that someone has spent time, money and effort into creating. It is only reasonable for someone to protect their property from someone else using it without permission.
