Bonnie Garrity of Good Earth Spa in Indianapolis, Indiana, say she believes that Trademark No. 4359286 for the word mark SOAP LOAF, registered to Petunia Farms of Liverpool, New York, should be canceled. She has launched a Change.org Petition regarding the issue and is collecting signatures and support. Here is a screen shot of the Petunia Farms home page.
Bonnie created the petition after ebay listings for her Soap Loaf products were removed without explanation. She later discovered that the registered trademark owner, Petunia Farms, had asked ebay to remove the listings based on a claim of trademark infringement, supported by Registration No. 4359286.
Bonnie says that she and other soap manufacturers have used the term SOAP LOAF generically for years to refer to the individual uncut blocks or loaves of soap that are later cut into individual bars of soap. (I can personally attest to this.) Bonnie's purpose in filing the petition is to is to rally support among people who accept the term SOAP LOAF as a general term that is not brand specific. So far, her petition has received well over 1,000 signatures.
The Good Earth Spa Facebook page is here.
You can see the Change.org petition here.
Petunia Farms website is here. When I checked last evening, Petunia Farms had a Twitter and a Facebook page. Both seem to have been removed as of this writing.
Update – October 1, 2013
The trademark holder posted to her website today that she is surrendering the SOAP LOAF trademark registration. Here is a screen shot of the news.
Here is the full text of the note on the site:
“An open letter to All:
When I received my trademark for the term, Soap Loaf it was not with the intention to upset or harm the business of any other soap maker or manufacturer. I have therefore decided to surrender the trademark for “Soap Loaf” but of course will continue to create my much-loved line for all my loyal customers and do.”
Thank you for your business and continued support.
JoAnn Netti”
QUESTIONS
1. Do you think the term SOAP LOAF is generic?
2. Do you agree the trademark registration for SOAP LOAF should be invalidated or canceled?
