Friday, October 15, 2010
NEW NAME NEEDED
Just my luck ... I've been contacted by a corporation who has the name "iSTAMP" as a registered trademark, asking me to change the name of my blog in order to avoid further legal action. UGH! I've used the name "iSTAMP" since 2007, even named my weekly "iPICKS" after it, and our demonstrator group "weSTAMP" after it. Well, my creative readers, feel free to bombard me with your creative ideas for renaming my blog ... I have none.
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93 comments:
oh what an absolute pain Nancy! I'll put my thinkin cap on for ya!
Karen
x
Oh my! How sad for you! What about myStamp or eyeStamp? Too corny? LOL!! Good luck!
Darn corporations!! What a hassle...!!
You could go with mySTAMPS and myPICKS if you want to stick with the same theme.
how about changing the i to an n for your first name? Or, how about iPICKS Place?
How about iluv2stamp?
Liz
Have you checked into how valid the corporation's claims are? Like, did you have the name first, or shoud they have maybe said something years ago?
I wonder if they would object to iStampED. Because everything you show has BEEN stamped.
I was also thinking iWow because you do but I did a search and there is an iTunes app and they would come after you too.
I'll keep thinking.
iSTAMPit?
How about don'tletthemangetyoudownSTAMP? Too long? Not very catchy, eh? How about sheSTAMPS?
Sorry you have to change your blog name, Nancy. Like you haven't had enough going on lately, eh?
Hugs,
Brandi
Play with the words :-) eye-stamp
how about I stamper
This stinks! I checked to see if this was really trademarked and it is. So is "Istamps". You can search for trademarks here: http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=tess&state=4007:u736ld.5.1
I like the idea to play off what you already have like the idea "eye" and Iinspire (because you do!)
Good luck in finding the right fit!
"ThoseBastards" comes to mind - what a pain! Can't we start a petition or something?? Surely blogger would be able to help you? You're not breaking any laws, surely?
How about istamp2?
Nancystamps
and Nancypicks
what about "iWILLstamp" ?
Oh My Gosh Amanda's idea is absolutely hilarious. I laughed when I read that one.
To be completely honest with you....I don't care what you name your blog, because I will visit it no matter what the name is. You are so wonderfully talented and inspire me all the time.
Good luck with it, and just let us know what the new name is, so we can all re bookmark it on our blogs.
What a shame. How annoying for you.
What about ySTAMP (last letter of your first name). Good luck!
Love your site anyway no matter what it's called!!!
Hello Nancy,
I´m so sorry you have to change the name.
What do you think about this idea:
iPICKStamps
Hugs, Tina
What a pain! Not what you need to think about right now. I'm sure lots of followers will come up with some great suggestions.
How about: iSTAMP4U
Then iPICKS could become iPICK4U
or iSTAMPiCREATE, or iLOVE2STAMP, or iNSPIRED2STAMP
I'm sorry that, on top of everything you are going through, you're given more to deal with! There are already some great names in the comments -- I wish I had something to add! I just think it stinks!!
How 'bout "RiStamp" for your last name, which would also sound similar.
How about iStampaLot.
So sorry to hear about your situation Nancy - I think I've been following you since the beginning and it's going to take a bit of getting use to the name change.
How about eyeStamp or eiiStamp (a play on the wii system). How about iSTAMP2 or i2STAMP.
Just a couple ideas Nancy.....Hope you are able to resolve this quick. Either way....I'm following you no matter what you call it.
Wow my license plate is ILV2STAMP!
Before that I had ISTAMP4U so maybe
you can do that with IPICK4U and your group can stay WeSTAMP. I really wante my license plate to say STAMPINUP but a demonstrator in my area already has it....I kind of like the new one I have and get asked about it all the time and when I say I am a demonstrator and teach you how to make homemade cards and 3D projects I get looks like I am a person from out of space and there are the few that craft that say how that's really cool and I ask if they want my card most say no a few take but haven't heard from anyone so from now I'll just give the card and not ask!
I feel so bad for you that you have to go through this with everything else you have been going through....I say a few extra prayers for you!!!
Inky Hugs,
Terry~~
perhaps an email campaign to that company.......I don't think they realize what bad publicity they are getting now.
by the way......when Istamp is googled your info about them comes up first.......many folks will know about this ..........
Kathy L.......
As if you don't have more important things to deal with and now this . . . I'm so sorry that you have this issue to deal with. How about NanceStamps? If you're a fan of the show Weeds, you could go with NancyPantsStamps - haha! My puppies name is Riley and we call her Smiley Riley so how about SmileyRileyStamps?? Good luck choosing a new name!
Nancy,
What can I say that hasn't been said already. I think I would contact the company and ask if they have seen your Blog. Heck fire just the advertisement value of your blog is worth a mint.
My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Big hugs,
Jeanine
WEll, that stinks! How about just changing the i to u? uSTAMP? or maybe you could just add an ! to the end? iSTAMP!
Pain - not what's needed right now I bet! Here's my thought:
eyestamp eyecandy (for ipicks)
Westamp
Weestamp
Weepicks Wepick
when did they register their trademark? before you started using it in 2007 on the internet? maybe you don't want to mess with it but it's worth checking. i don't want to see you bullied. hugs, m
How about...iHADITFIRST...said with hands on hips while stomping left foot!
The only name I could come up with is iCREATE or iPAPERCRAFT. I'm confident you'll come up with a great name.
BTW...I LOVE your blog....and I'm praying for you and your family!!
if you had the name first, then i say let them come at you. it's not infringement if you had it first (i think). and chances are they have only applied for the trademark, too. plus, are they really going to pay for legal action? if so, let them! fight for it :)
How about Let'sSTAMP! I like the "invitation" feel of it : )
Oh thats just crazy. Here's my suggestion "WELL istamp TOO" lol
How about iNancy-Stamp Goddess!
Hugs, Becky
FancyNancyStamps....I tried to go with sytlish...but it didn't have the same ring! Sorry that the corporation didn't go to Kindergarten to learn how to share!!!
Maggi mamin50@yahoo.com
I still don't know how to sign in on this thing so I can comment and I wanted to say something to support you.....
"yStamp" for the y in each of your names.
I love your blog and no matter the name I'll be following you. I'm sorry about your mother, my thoughts go out to you and your family. I'm glad that your daughter is on the mend and should be back to college in January. I like iSTAMP4U and iPICK4U that someone suggested. Or just leave the iPICKS and only change the iSTAMP part. Good luck!
I believe you can always use your own name without concerns of trademark infringements --- and since your name is quite recognizable on the net and associated with A+++ talent and creativity!!! ...why not simply use Nancy Riley plus whatever you want to add to it for your picks, group, and site name?
Wow...when it rains, it pours...and you're up to your neck in water by now!! So Sorry!!! How will we find you when you make a name change? Have they given you a time limit?
Hi Nancy,
Well they say trouble comes in 3's so if you have to change your name why not "I'll Stamp" all you have to do is add the L's. Good luck but what a pain. Just keep the faith and I'll keep praying for you and yours. BIG HUGS, Mary
What a bummer! How about "SoIStamp" ?
Sorry about this. What about "Stampin'Life of Riley"?
How 'bout - iSTAMPmore.
Hi Nancy, my husband and I own a small business and were also threatened by another company years ago. The wrote what they thought was a letter that contain "lawyer language"...they were trying to scare us and it didn't work. Come to find out, they had no grounds for making us change our name. I would wait it out a little longer. This other company never bothered us again after we ignored them.
Glad to hear everything is going well with your daughter. I'm sorry to hear about your mom.
I too, send my kind thoughts and prayers to you and your family.
I am sorry that you are being pestered by whoever it is to change your name.
Perhaps, like others have suggested, you could try a ply on the name - maybe an icon of an eye followed by the word "stamp"?
Wishing you and yours all the best.
Most sincerely, Jennifer
Hey Nancy - what about - iSTAMP ALOT!
Then you can rename the group to - weSTAMP ALOT but your iPICKS can still be iPICKS cause you pick em!
Hope that helps! lol
Karen
x
I enjoy you iPicks too Nancy. The only thing I thought of is, iStamp4fun.
good luck!
Pam Going Postal
You've got a lot of great ideas here, so nothing to add except to say that I'm so sorry. You did not need this. Not ever, but certainly not now. What a royal pain in the ...
Some years back, a nice couple in town had the same trouble, with Sears.....their sign said simply SEARS CLEANERS. Their surname IS Sears. Sears threatened them so much they finally gave in....I'm thinkin this might not be a company that has a leg to stand on...check 'em out. Why should YOU change.
How about LetUsStamp?
Now, let us pray:)
Can you do {i}stamp?
Hi sorry to hear your news maybe you can you can use inspiration, or craftystamper, or stampin an addiction,
to use an Australian term...buggar!!...not good with everything else you have going on. I have no witty suggestions for a new name but I wish you luck with all your family and I am so glad to hear your daughter is doing well
if they have iStamp registered can you make it Istamp just change up the letters.. usually that's okay.
Or start fresh.. New name, new look.. go all out.
Stamping Fancy with Nancy!!
Riley Creations Ink...
Not a good helper here I know...lol
I think you should keep IPicks..
Nancy, I agree with the person who said she wouldn't care what you named it...we'll come anyway. I honestly can't tell you the names of the blogs I visit...just the names of the women who's work inspires me. I vote "iInspire". Because you do that everyday. or "iRiley love to stamp!"
Since your group is named "weStamp", that's what I suggest for your blog.
:-)
I don't know how trademark NAMES work, but I do know that you can't just change things in a trade marked logo and call it your own. Harley Davidson went after a Job's Daughters organization who tweeked the HD logo for some promotional material of their own and got in a HUGE amount of trouble!
I say to go with something that uses your own name, as someone previously posted.
Wish I could be more help but you've had so many suggestions that I couldn't keep up with all of them.
What a pain! How about iSTAMPIN?
"the blog formerly known as iSTAMP" :)
I, too, wonder how long it's been trademarked and if you've been using the name longer...
I hope you can get through this smoothly and quickly. Like everyone else has said, we love you no matter what you call it!
Hang in there!
Julie
Don't let it go without at least a bit of a fight. It's clear we will all follow you no matter the name. I am so glad your daughter is in rehab and doing well. My mom is also ill and it takes it's toll with family issues on all fronts. Your creative side will spring into action and I am confident IF you have to rename, it will be hot, hip and trendy-just like YOU! We await your decision. You are in my prayers with your daughter and mom.
Jen Blank
I also like the 'istamp4U and ipick4u' blog name.
I see some of you guys feel the same way I feel and if it was trademarked after 2007 to bad for them.
I love iSTAMP. How about i-STAMP,ISTAMP
Hi Nancy -
It's all been said, but you had it first from what I read. So, iSTAMP1st! ;-)
nah, nah, nah! Sometimes we have to smile and be silly, but it could work. Keep smiling Nancy. We love you. Maureen
what about uSTAMP iPICKS
how about istampalot
stampinNAN or stampNR
ARGH!!! That just stinks! It's so tuff to think up a fun blog name too. I'm so sorry, friend! I'd help you out, but I'm clean out of blog names... bummer!
How about RiStamp (short for Riley)? That truly does stink that you have to change your blog name after so long :(
Hi Nancy
Please check again because sometimes a lot of people don't finish the steps for the Copyright for a name for a company.
Well is you want or need to change the name, check if you like NR-Stamp or RileyStamp
Good Luck Nancy
**Sony**
Sonia-Studio60
Can you get away with using a picture of an eye?? Bugger !!!!!
iStampink!
What about eyeSTAMP ? We have 'I' street here in DC, and people refer to it as "eye" street. Just a thought.
Here is the trademark office's electronic search system so you can check their claims: http://tess2.uspto.gov/
You might want to do a little more research before giving up on your name, including talking to an intellectual property attorney. The US Government is studying the "bullying" of small businesses through the trademark process and your name might be more protected than you know.
http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/bullies_survey.jsp
maybe keep it in teh same family "uSTAMP"?
I say you name it "Bite Me iStamp", but that might turn some people off...lol.
Can you call it iINK'nSTAMP?
Bummer!
How about Ri-Stamp? :)
Hey girlfriend. So sorry that you are having to deal with this right now. How about iPicks by Nancy or iStamp. I know it will all work out in the end.
hi nancy! what a pain for you with all you have going on. okay, i agree with the ladies before me said to see who had the name first! don't let anyone push you around! next, i also came up with eyestamp. what about stampin'I? or stampin'eye? just make sure we know where to find you! i love your blog. good luck!
If it is the way you used lower case and upper case, could you switch them around to "iSTAMP!" (my choice) or "Istamp" or "Istamp!" and then copyright your names so it wouldn't happen again? Best wishes!
iSTAMPalot
Nancy-- Love you and your blog. and even though your not stamping alot now we know you'll be back to it soon!
Hugs and prayers for you and your family!
iSTAMP2
Hi Nancy! Thank you for taking the time to update us on you and your family. It isn't necessary, but it is nice. I'm so sorry that you are going through so much right now. Please know I'm thinking of you way up here in Canada:) Huge Hugs!
In terms of your blog...what about weStamp
You created the istamp when you were a "sole" entity and now you have so many followers and friends that "we" all stamp together and are inspired by YOU!
Take care.
how about mestamp....something in the future could be youstamp.....everybodystamp stamp! lol!!
what a royal pain to ahve to change everything....darn those other iSTAMP people.
Well that stinks, it's not like you are making $ off of it.
Whatever you pick you should maybe copywrite it.
Good luck with your choice in a new name
Very glad to hear your daughter is recovering well. Have missed your postings. As far as your new name. How about: iRiley loves to play with stamps and paper.
I say WE bombard the other "iStamp" and let them know we're not happy with them for picking on our Nancy! We'll see just how much negative publicity they want....
How about Istamp! then Ipicks! don't know if that would a satisfy them or you! So sorry!
I have heard this is a new trend....if you have not claimed your name and registered it other "people" register it for themselves and then harass the original user. I have registered butternutsage just for this reason. I am so sorry that it has happened to you. I believe it is sort of a scam kind of thing to get money from the original user. I personally will miss iStamp! Hugs to you Nancy~Donna
How about weStamp2? Because as your readers, we do stamp too. (-:
Julie M.
I am sorry to hear you are having to deal with this on top of everything else. Unfortunately it looks like they actually registered in 2005 so harrassing them won't do us any good! lol But I can't see how you having it for your blog would affect their business, it's a pity they aren't willing to just let it go.
Whatever the new name, you will still have all of your loyal blog readers :)
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