# Relabeling and registration questions



## A Family Affair (Sep 26, 2007)

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Hi all!

All the info I've read on relabeling has been very informative. But I have a few questions:

1. If we relabel for example a hanes T-shirt, but keep the care instructions tag that my have the hanes RN on it, is hanes required to get a portion our proceeds from the sales we make?

2. What machinery/tools can we use to make tagless labels?

3. What is the process for getting our tag/label name registered?

4. Where can we get tags with our label made?

Thanks for any assistance!

AD


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

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> 1. If we relabel for example a hanes T-shirt, but keep the care instructions tag that my have the hanes RN on it, is hanes required to get a portion our proceeds from the sales we make?


No. Hanes could care less what you make 



> 2. What machinery/tools can we use to make tagless labels?


What do you consider a tagless label?



> 3. What is the process for getting our tag/label name registered?


Registered how?



> 4. Where can we get tags with our label made?


http://www.t-shirtforums.com/tags/label-vendors/


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## A Family Affair (Sep 26, 2007)

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For question #1, I figured that was such, I just need a little reassurance.

For question #4, Thanks for that link.

For question #2 and #3, I consider tagless, a shirt without an itchy tag. For example, Hanes and FOTLume (I think) has just the printed care info etc., on their t shirts. That's what I consider tagless.

About registering our name. My sisters and I have a name in mind for our T shirt line. I wanted to know how to get in trademarked, copywritten or registered (which ever applies to clothing lines) so that no one else can use our name. 

Thanks.

AD


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

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A Family Affair said:


> For question #2 and #3, I consider tagless, a shirt without an itchy tag.


That's pretty subjective (and meaningless). As far as I'm concerned that includes a stitched in woven label, which clearly isn't tagless.



A Family Affair said:


> For example, Hanes and FOTLume (I think) has just the printed care info etc., on their t shirts. That's what I consider tagless.


That kind of thing is normally just done by screenprinting. Either directly into the neck of the garment, or pressed on plastisol transfers with a heat press. It's pretty easy to incorporate into your production flow, however you end up producing the shirts (which will affect how you want to do it).



A Family Affair said:


> I wanted to know how to get in trademarked, copywritten or registered (which ever applies to clothing lines) so that no one else can use our name.


You can't copyright a name. You trademark it at the USPTO (assuming you're in the US), and register the business with your local government (the county office for example). There's some location specific information available on the forums for resale licenses, DBAs, etc.


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## CritterLife (Sep 27, 2007)

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Hi A.D.,

A couple of quick points:

1)When you talk about a NAME of your product line, you're talking about TRADEMARKING.

2) When you talk about the ARTWORK that goes on those t-shirts, you're talking about COPYRIGHTING (visual arts).

Both can be extremely important (though many people move forward without dealing with them), and I recommend you talk to a lawyer, particularly in relation to trademark law which can get quite complex. Here are a couple of website links to get you up on the lingo and general information.

Trademarks
U.S. Copyright Office

It's actually quite simple and inexpensive to copyright something (like your t-shirt art) yourself using forms off the government website but, again, I'd chat with a lawyer about trademarking. Bear in mind that you don't HAVE to do any of this. You can establish "common law" usage of your art and name by simply using them on the market. You can use the "circle c" symbol (letter "c" inside a circle) without actually copyrighting your artwork, AND you can use the letters "TM" next to names / phrases you want to establish as your own (but you CAN'T legally use the "circle R" symbol for trademark until your mark has been accepted by the US Patent & Trademark Office). However, common law usage does not completely protect you / your product (sometimes difficult to prove in a lawsuit). On the flip side, the process of formally trademarking can be quite expensive so weigh the pros and cons.

I'm sure this is clear as mud! I've just been through this all myself, so it's fresh on my brain. I'm happy to clarify anything or answer some more questions. Best of luck!


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## A Family Affair (Sep 26, 2007)

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Solmu said:


> That's pretty subjective (and meaningless). As far as I'm concerned that includes a stitched in woven label, which clearly isn't tagless.


Huh? Subjective? Meaningless?  When I say tagless, I mean a shirt without a tag, that's all. Maybe I'm saying it wrong. But you answered my question when you suggested the heat press/pastisol transfers all though I don't know what plastisol transfers are (remember, I'm new at this).




Solmu said:


> That kind of thing is normally just done by screenprinting. Either directly into the neck of the garment, or pressed on plastisol transfers with a heat press. It's pretty easy to incorporate into your production flow, however you end up producing the shirts (which will affect how you want to do it).


OK



Solmu said:


> You can't copyright a name. You trademark it at the USPTO (assuming you're in the US), and register the business with your local government (the county office for example). There's some location specific information available on the forums for resale licenses, DBAs, etc.


Very informative, thank you.

AD


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## A Family Affair (Sep 26, 2007)

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CritterLife said:


> Hi A.D.,
> 
> A couple of quick points:
> 
> ...


OMG! Thanks for clearing that up. 



CritterLife said:


> Both can be extremely important (though many people move forward without dealing with them), and I recommend you talk to a lawyer, particularly in relation to trademark law which can get quite complex. Here are a couple of website links to get you up on the lingo and general information.
> 
> Trademarks
> U.S. Copyright Office
> ...


OK, I'm following you about copwriting the artwork. Thanks, I'm somewhat familiar with copywriting all though, I've only used it in the past for music. I'm not sure if the same forms are used for music and artwork. I'll have to check that out. However, I'm not following you about the "common law" usage. What do you mean by using them on the market?



CritterLife said:


> You can use the "circle c" symbol (letter "c" inside a circle) without actually copyrighting your artwork, AND you can use the letters "TM" next to names / phrases you want to establish as your own (but you CAN'T legally use the "circle R" symbol for trademark until your mark has been accepted by the US Patent & Trademark Office). However, common law usage does not completely protect you / your product (sometimes difficult to prove in a lawsuit). On the flip side, the process of formally trademarking can be quite expensive so weigh the pros and cons.


Thanks for the heads up. I do have a lawyer that I can contact, however, if their's an easier way to have some sort of protection with my name usage than trademarking, I may opt for that. Let me know.



CritterLife said:


> I'm sure this is clear as mud! I've just been through this all myself, so it's fresh on my brain. I'm happy to clarify anything or answer some more questions. Best of luck!


Yes, you have been very helpful.

Thanks
AD


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

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A Family Affair said:


> Huh? Subjective? Meaningless?


Yes, "itchy" is subjective, and since it doesn't do what you wanted it to do (differentiate between alternatives as an unambiguous adjective), it's meaningless.



A Family Affair said:


> though I don't know what plastisol transfers are (remember, I'm new at this).


They're very popular with members here, so there's lots of info in the faq (and on the forums in general).


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

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A Family Affair said:


> OK, I'm following you about copwriting the artwork.


Copywriting is when you write copy about something. Copy*right* is the intellectual property protection.



A Family Affair said:


> I'm not sure if the same forms are used for music and artwork.


I don't know a lot about music copyright: I know that the copyright laws and office that govern them both are the same, but I think there's additional registration for music which may make things a little different overall.



A Family Affair said:


> I'm not following you about the "common law" usage. What do you mean by using them on the market?


Common law is a legal philosophy inherited from the British legal system. It assumes certain rights through usage and precedent, that aren't necessarily explicitly stated by legislature.

Using them on the market means just that: if you sell your product on the open market, this usage establishes a certain level of rights to continued usage. It's not as good as a _registered _trademark, but if you had to sue someone you could show a pattern of use in commerce that indicates you have the right and inclination to trademark (you just hadn't filed the paperwork yet).


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## A Family Affair (Sep 26, 2007)

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Great!

Thanks for your info.


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## A Family Affair (Sep 26, 2007)

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Oh ok,

I'm following you now.

Thanks!


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