[Jewelry making - Article 00600] - Re: [Orchid] Models for Medical jewelry

[James White]

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Hi Tina,

>         Oh ye of little faith!  I do now have a "definitive" answer
>     from the AMA.  I talked with the VP of professional standards again
>     (I think he finally realized I wasn't going to give up and I was
>     going to call him every week until I got that definitive answer)
>     and told him that 

    Congratulations on your bulldog tenacity (and I mean that in a
    complimentary way). Now you have 1 of 3 answers in definitive form,
    the one about the AMA origins and their apparent donation of it to
    the public domain. 

>         The 1963 statement clearly states that "This symbol may appear
>     in any size and color". If ANYONE wants a copy of the three
>     different versions of the symbol (AMA, USDHEW, and NHTSA) and the
>     1963 AMA statement and the 1964 USDHEW symbol brochure, I will be
>     more than happy to scan them and either email them or post them
>     under the Ganoskin galleries. 

    Excellent plan. And, if you might, have the tenacity to get it
    posted at the AMA site too and it wouldn't be a bad idea to try for
    NHTSAs web pages either. 

>         re: my "leap" regarding color on the NHTSA brochure (which is
>     now kind of mute with the AMA's recognition of public domain on
>     their symbol and statement it could be any size and color) was
>     based on a 

    Essentially it appears the "off the cuff non-lawyer" requirements
    given to you by NHTSA was WRONG relative to their trademark which is
    registered as BLUE only (and without the AMA's enclosing hexagon).
    Further their blue version, per their actual registration,
    specifically stipulates: 

    THE CERTIFICATION MARK IS USED BY PERSONS AUTHORIZED BY APPLICANT TO
    CERTIFY THAT EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE VEHICLES MEET U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
    TRANSPORTATION STANDARDS (CLASS A), THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE
    PERSONNEL OPERATING THE VEHICLE HAVE BEEN TRAINED TO MEET U.S.
    DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION STANDARDS (CLASS B), OR BOTH 

    Which essentially means you technically are not allowed to use a
    blue (non-hexagon enclosed) version to symbolize a wearer medical
    requirement. (So now you have a more? definitive answer on the NHTSA
    version---don't use it for sure in blue and don't use the
    r-in-a-circle registration symbol.) 

    And further (not that you've suggested you'll infringe other related
    trademarks but to preclude others who might make such a mistake) if
    you search "medic alert" in the US registered trademarks as owner
    and/or "combo" you'll find the Medic Alert Foundation which has
    control of those words and a symbol (including the words and a staff
    and "cut" snake) and a specific "bracelet design" shape of an
    "ellipse with pointed ends". (see
    http://www.medicalert.org/Home/homegradient.aspx) 

>         re: the liability issue, my attorney who is a very prominent
>     intellectual property and contract attorney stated weeks ago that
>     "anyone can sue anybody over anything.  The key is to demonstrate 

    Essentially I agree with your attorney but YOU seem to be
    bulldogedly missing the main liability point. On the line from "ugly
    VISIBLE" to "beautiful (nearly) INvisible" you certainly might be
    sued anywhere---BUT I think your attorney will also tell you the
    farther you get toward the "beautiful (nearly) INvisible" the
    probability of a suit rises dramatically, as does the liability. And,
    I suspect your attorney will also tell you, disclaimers have their
    limits---especially if a court decides they are really a "bad faith"
    attempt at appearing to imply that some nearly invisible symbol
    hidden on some piece of jewelry WILL satisfactorily perform it's
    intended alerting function. (So really there can be no "definitive"
    spot answer to this liability issue.) 

    You're the one that has to draw the line with your
    jewelry---appearances from the Google image search seem to show that
    many (wisely) draw the line more toward the "ugly VISIBLE" which will
    make the odds of them being liable vanishingly small and the odds of
    a suit against them very small. Of course we now definitively know
    that your use of the original AMA emblem (or perhaps the slightly
    modified NHTSA version) in jewelry can't be in blue and can't be on
    an ellipse with pointed ends or include or imply "Medic Alert" unless
    you qualify for and license rights to those latter two. 

    Good job ferreting out the appropriate information! But please make
    a calculated decision on where you are WILLING (both in financial
    liability and human grief terms) to fall on that line rather than
    just picking a spot because you CAN and your aesthetic bias leans
    toward "beautiful (nearly) INvisible". 

James E. White
Inventor, Marketer, and Author of "Will It Sell? How to Determine If
Your Invention Is Profitably Marketable (Before Wasting Money on a
Patent)"  Info Sites:   www.willitsell.com    www.inventorhome.com,
www.idearights.com www.taletyano.com www.booksforinventors.com

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