Trademark FAQs

What exactly is a trademark?
Technically, a trademark can be any word, phrase, slogan, name, symbol, logo, package design or device that identifies and distinguishes the source of goods from one source from other sources. A service mark is any word, phrase, slogan, name, symbol, logo, package design or device that identifies that identifies and distinguishes the services provided by one source from other sources. Service marks are often generically referred to as trademarks. In this FAQ, our references to trademarks also refer to service marks.

How can you have a trademark on a word like “grange”?
In the U.S., generic words, terms or phrases that have been used extensively and over time to describe and designate distinctive goods and services can acquire trademark protection. One test of this distinctiveness is whether or not the general public and other sources of authority recognize the words, terms or phrases as being closely associated with particular businesses,goods and services. For example, nearly every American English language dictionary not only carries a definition of the word “grange” as a generic and usually archaic term for farm or granary but also cites a description of the National Grange organization and its formation in 1867 as a commonly held definition of the word “grange”. Therefore the common definition of the word ‘grange’ in most dictionaries actually supports the designation of the term GRANGE as a trademark for the National Grange and its state, county and local chapters.

What are the general benefits of having a trademark anyway?
The main reason for having a trademark is to enable the public to recognize and associate specific goods and services as originating with a particular company or provider. Trademarks are protected by law in order to serve this valuable source indicating function and protect the public by preventing confusion about the source of goods or services. Trademarks help assure that trademark owners, and not an imitative competitors or counterfeiters, will benefit from the rewards associated with the hard work and good will of creating and marketing a consistent product or service.

Why would the National Grange want or need to have a general, nationwide trademark?
The National Grange owns and manages its trademark resources primarily for the benefit of the nearly 2500 local, county and state Grange chapters across the nation. Grange trademarks are commonly and constantly used by local Grange chapters to organize companies to provide commercial services and products that specifically benefit individual Grange members, such as cooperatives, mutual insurance companies and credit unions. Local Grange chapters also use Grange trademarks to provide a wide variety of commercial goods and services to the public in order to raise funds to support the social, cultural, civic, educational and non-partisan political objectives of the organization. In today’ society, many for-profit corporations commonly utilize associations with non-profit causes to enhance their goodwill, market share and profits. In contrast, the National Grange and its affiliated chapters manage and use our GRANGE trademarks in order to engage in commercial activities which generate financial resources that support the non-for-profit objectives of the organization. Maintaining the public’s association with the trademark GRANGE and the social, cultural, civic, educational and non-partisan political objectives of the organization as well as fostering the benefits of economic cooperation among its members, is the primary goal of the National Grange Trademark Protection Program.

Doesn’t trademark protection expire?
No. Unlike patents and copyrights, there is no statutory expiration of trademarks, common law or registered. A trademark registration can remain valid forever, provided that the registration is periodically renewed with evidence of continued use. It is also possible to cancel registered trademarks if there is evidence that a trademark has not been actively used for a period of time.

But I still want to use it. Where does that leave me?
Small businesses that have unintentionally or inadvertantly used the trademark GRANGE in their business name or in the name of any of their individual products, facilities or services have the option of phasing out the use of the trademark GRANGE in their business or engaging in negotiations with the National Grange to obtain a license to legally use the trademark GRANGE. We have developed very cost effective measures, especially for small businesses, to acquire a license to operate a business and market products and services using the trademark GRANGE. Terms and conditions of these licenses vary, depending on the size and primary business lines of the small business. Businesses of any size that attempt to register the term GRANGE for trademark protection covering business names or specific categories of products and services with the US. Trademark Office will generally find that the National Grange will vigorously oppose such registrations, resulting in extensive legal expenses and probable failure or, at a minimum, excessive delay and uncertainty in successfully obtaining the registration.

Why would I have to obtain a trademark license?
Under general trademark law in the United States, the categories of trademark infringement that are subject to general enforcement not only address circumstances where there would be an obvious conflict with the primary commercial use of a trademark by its owner and licensees, but also with unauthorized uses of the trademark that diminish the unique distinctiveness of the trademark in the eye of the public. The term for this type of infringement is dilution. Thus, any use of the term GRANGE that could blur the distinctiveness or tarnish the image of the trademark GRANGE would be a type infringement, even if there is little likelihood of commercial confusion. Because the National Grange manages its trademark resources primarily for the benefit of the nearly 2500 local, county and state Grange chapters across the nation in order to support the social, cultural, civic, educational and non-partisan political objectives of the organization, the National Grange generally considers any unauthorized use of the GRANGE trademark for for-profit, commercial purposes as a serious dilution of our trademark rights.

Do I have to obtain a license if I want to continue to use the term GRANGE in my business if I’m operating out of what used to be a Grange building?
Yes. The legal right to use the trademark term GRANGE as a business name or as part of the name of any product or service offered by a business does not convey to the new owner of a formerly owned Grange property. Local and state Grange chapters do not have the authority to authorize a new owner of their building to use the term GRANGE in their business. Only the National Grange has the legal authority to grant a license to use the term GRANGE as part of a business. Any representation by local or state Grange officials, real estate agents or other officials to the contrary that may have been made as part of the negotiations for the sale of a Grange property are completely erroneous and invalid. They will not be recognized or honored by the National Grange.

Do I and my employees have to be, or become, members of the National Grange.
No. Grange membership is a separate and distinct personal decision that a business owner or their employees make regarding their individual support for the non-profit, social, cultural, civic, educational and non-partisan political objectives of the Grange organization. Business owners who have any strong personal or philosophical objections to the parent National Grange organization, or feel their customers may have such objections, should strongly consider not taking a license to use the term GRANGE in their business because the National Grange will not negotiate with potential licensees on its core principals to use its trademarks primarily to promote the objectives of the organization as well as fostering the benefits of economic cooperation among its members, in order to address the objections of its potential business licensees.

What does a license cost?
The National Grange generally includes an annual license fee in its standard trademark license contracts. However, unlike most for profit trademark owners that engage in trademark licensing as a significant source of commercial revenue, National Grange trademark license fees are not established primarily to generate any minimum amount of revenue for the parent organization. At the current time, the National Grange is pursuing a strategy of offering cost effective licenses, primarily to small businesses that have unintentionally or inadvertently incorporated the trademark GRANGE into their business as a cost effective alternative to changing their business names and sacrificing the marketing, advertising and good will built up by the business or to pursuing litigation that could endanger the continued viability of the business. License fees are individually negotiated with each licensee to reflect their business plan, how long they have been in business and the projected growth in their business. Generally, the annual license fees to the National Grange have not been a major business cost to our current licensees. However, the president and board of directors of the National Grange are elected democratically by our grassroots delegates representing the dues paying Grange members across the nation. There is no guarantee that current National Grange policy on no minimum trademark license fee revenues will not be revisited by future democratically elected Grange leaders.

I’ve received an infringing letter. What should I do?
A business owner who has received what is known as a Cease and Desist letter from the National Grange should take this letter seriously and move to address the concerns addressed in the letter in a timely manner. Failure to do so could directly lead to litigation in federal court. The first decision that a business owner has to make is whether or not they should remove the trademark term GRANGE from their business name, products or services. If the preliminary decision is to continue to operate with the name GRANGE then the business owner should contact the National Grange’s Trademark Protection Manager, Leroy Watson, to explore licensing options. Contacting a local Grange or State Grange chapter to explore licensing options is not an effective strategy. Local and State Grange chapters are authorized to use GRANGE trademarks in their operations but only the parent National Grange organization has legal authority to grant a trademark license.

At any stage of the process, business owners who have received a Cease and Desist letter can seek the advice of legal counsel in drafting their response to either the original letter or to a proposed license agreement that the owner may have received. Seeking the advice of legal counsel for any major business decision, especially one potentially involving trademark license contracts and complicated aspect of Federal trademark law is a prudent decision. To get the best legal advice, business owners should seek advice from an attorney who has experience with trademark law. Several of current National Grange licensees have used qualified legal counsel who have suggested positive language modifications to our trademark license contracts that make the intent and expectations of both parties clearer and less likely to result in future conflict. On the other hand, sometimes local legal counsel will advise their small business clients to allow them send a letter to the National Grange in response to a Cease and Desist letter, or even later in the process, demanding that the National Grange drop its intention to enforce its trademark rights against their client. Inevitably, this approach ends up costing their clients additional, unnecessary legal fees as the National Grange continues to pursue its legal rights. It also leaves the small business owner with unresolved legal questions on the final status of the use of the term GRANGE in that business that could potentially affect multiple, critical aspects of the business, including financing, insurance and governmental permitting.