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[tigerlily]

Is it possible to Trademark the terms Genuine Sea Glass and Certified Genuine Sea Glass? Here is a link to where someone has claimed to have trademarked these terms http://www.bytheseajewelry.com/theglass/genuine.php. Does this make sense to anyone?

[Kaitlin]

I just took a look at the site. 

Seems like the entrepreneur has tried to set this up without advice of counsel. 
I would be very surprised if "Genuine Sea Glass" would pass muster as a trademark.  My own take on it is that this is a generic expression for glass genuinely altered by the sea.  The site itself seems to confirm the generic nature of the phrase in their blurb about it.  They say, "Now used widely on the internet, it has become the standard term to indicate that sea glass is natural found glass just the way it was picked up from the beach."  To my way of thinking, that pretty clearly admits that, if not generic at the outset, the phrase has become generic and so is incapable of serving as a trademark.  (Similar story for  "Certified ~".) 

Incidentally, the "TM" abbreviation is what is used to make sure people know you are claiming a trademark in a word, phrase, or logo.  This is not the same thing as "registering" a trademark with the PTO, which is what people generally are thinking of when they speak of "trademarking" something.  (Technically speaking, you never "trademark" anything.  It either is a trademark or it isn't, depending on whether it is used in such a way that the relevant consumers recognize it as a trademark.)

[seaglassqueen]

Yes Lisl,,,,many companies INCLUDING the US POST OFFICE use the TM mark for unregistered trademarks......

[Zonath]

I agree that 'genuine sea glass' would be too generic to be registered as a trademark.  At the same time, I wonder if it might be registered in some way as a certification mark (since certification marks can be quite a bit more generic than normal marks, like "Idaho Potatoes" or "Certified Organic").  Certainly, the use of the word 'certified' might seem to indicate that there might be some kind of certification mark out there for sea glass (although it seems like a bit too much of a niche market to really warrant a certification mark).  Of course, the whole point of a certification mark is for people and businesses other than the holder of the mark to use the mark if their goods qualify for certification, and a certification mark owner is required to be neutral in certifying products, and cannot refuse to certify any goods which meet the standards for certification:

From 15 USC §1064:

§ 14 (15 U.S.C. § 1064). Cancellation
A petition to cancel a registration of a mark, stating the grounds relied upon, may, upon payment
of the prescribed fee, be filed as follows by any person who believes that he is or will be
damaged, including as a result of a likelihood of dilution by blurring or dilution by tarnishment
under section 1125(c) of this title, by the registration of a mark on the principal register established
by this chapter, or under the Act of March 3, 1881, or the Act of February 20, 1905:


(5) At any time in the case of a certification mark on the ground that the registrant (A) does not
control, or is not able legitimately to exercise control over, the use of such mark, or (B)
engages in the production or marketing of any goods or services to which the certification
mark is applied, or (C) permits the use of the certification mark for purposes other than to
certify, or (D) discriminately refuses to certify or to continue to certify the goods or services of
any person who maintains the standards or conditions which such mark certifies:

At the same time, the owner of the site appears to be claiming a personal copyright/trademark interest in the 'certified genuine sea glass' mark, and so would appear not to be using it in compliance with the requirements for a certification mark under at least criteria (B) of the above-quoted section, and I primarily throw out the certification mark possibility for the purpose of completeness, just in case, upon further research, you might find out that there's some kind of sea glass council which actually certifies sea glass and has registered the certified genuine sea glass mark as a certification mark in order to protect unwitting tourists who might be hornswoggled into buying glass that's been put through a rock tumbler or whatever (again, as unlikely as that seems).

[Kaitlin]

Hi Zonath.
This thread was started a couple of years ago.  To the best of my recollection, the copyright-symbol-trying-to-act-as-a-trademark-symbol is something new added to the site in the interim.  Not sure what's going on with the site, but it's pretty clear the owner hasn't consulted with counsel about the claims being made there regarding IP.
-- K

[Zonath]

Ah, I see.  I hadn't noticed the date on the original post.