Tiki Torch Trademarks

Aloha! I am so impressed by Tiki Central. What an awesome community of Tikiophiles! I would like to request your kokua in a legal matter that pops up every so often. Malama Torch(TM), Malama Torches(TM), Malama Style(TM), and Malama Uila(TM) all are trademarks which belong to our ohana, originally Don Yuen Manufacturing, and now operating as LeiManu Designs. On occasion, people use our trade marks and brand names for products which have no association with us. (Just found two companies doing so today!) It would be great if whenever referring to any of our products, they are identified with the (TM) thingie. Our ohana has worked hard for almost 50 years to provide a quality product. Using the (TM) with the product name helps protect our legal rights to our trademark. Mahalo nui loa! Leilehua

"It would be great if whenever referring to any of our products, they are identified with the (TM) thingie."

would guess that most people here have never heard of your products this is a first time for me.
Most here use the tiki torches that use the oil and wick, Heck I think even they don't want you to
call a tiki torch a tiki torch as it is there trade mark name.
Kinda weird as it's the name of the thing, tiki torch.
Like trade marking the name car and saying don't call that a car any more unless it's our brand.

Many of the torches TC people use would cost less than the tax would be on your products.

Now if you could get the Tiki torch company to stop using metal cans to hold the oil for
their torches this would be helpful.
The metal cans rust and then don't work, but then I think that is the idea as then you need a new
Tiki torch brand torch.

Your products look cool, not ripping on them or you.
Welcome to TC.

Yes here is a thread on the topic.
You may need to add a (TM) thingie to your thread title here.
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=20797&forum=1

Thanks for the reply! I posted because I saw a thread where we were recommended. So happy! So I thought I would try and recruit people to help us defend our torch name. As to the use of metal canisters - cheap steel cans are the most cost-effective container that will not eventually catch fire. The steel has a good heat dispersion, too, so it helps prevent the torch from getting too hot. non-rusting containers would be rather expensive, or overheat at the wick, which would give a rather more flamboyant effect than desired!

Our family actually calls the torches lu'au torches. I only started hearing them called tiki torches in the late 80s or early 90s.

[ Edited by: Leilehua 2015-06-25 10:53 ]

"The steel has a good heat dispersion, too, so it helps prevent the torch from getting too hot. non-rusting containers would be rather expensive, or overheat at the wick, which would give a rather more flamboyant effect than desired!"

Well I don't know about that as they for a short time made plastic oil containers that I bought and used with no problem.
All I can do is guess that they said hey these will last too long as I could see no
other problem with these plastic container's.

And hey plastic must be more cost effective than metal.
Unless plastic lasts forever.

Hmmmm - maybe different environments? The plastic containers I have used generally start to get really brittle in a couple of years and develop cracks. :-/