*I am not a lawyer, none of this has been edited or looked over by a lawyer.*
Chomp is not a large brand. We do a small seven figure business with minimal overhead. I love my adorable little business.
Being small comes at a cost. Our intellectually property is constantly infringed upon. I don’t mean our concepts or phrases are mimicked– though that does happen too.
[I saw recently saw someone use “never worried, never hurried” on a graphic. Maybe that phrase is generic, so I don’t get hysterical about it]
What I actually mean is, our graphics are straight up used on other people’s products without alteration– other than removing our logo. I’ve seen it on amazon, redbubble, zazzle, eBay, Wish and other marketplaces.
The problem with these marketplaces, is they are not vertical. Meaning, a user or manufacturer is creating an account and selling products on their platform. This makes it extremely difficult to catch the bad guy.
Intellectual property and especially trademark is incredibly expensive to litigate.
ADVICE: The best small creators can hope for is for a very large, cash-rich brand to sell their exact IP on a shirt. Then, instead of making a public stink about it, let them sell and sell and sell until they’ve made tons of money. Then get your lawyer to pounce. You’re entitled to butt-loads of money then.
Until I have my own Morgan and Morgan, who does my legal bidding whenever I ask, I’ll settle for having the most rad customer base of all time. Thank you for shopping small.
Sincerely,
Josh Not-Esquire (Definitely Not a Lawyer)