National Picnic® is trademarked!

National Picnic® is trademarked! 

No small feat, having your brand trademarked is pretty huge. You know a registered trademark by seeing a ® appear in the logo, a character we will spend time adding to our website and company materials in the New Year.

We quietly reached this milestone in 2019 after a long but relatively smooth legal process (no one contested it).

Why trademark?

As National Picnic grows, we wanted to make sure that we are protecting what we can in an industry notorious for knock-offs and outright counterfeiting. Trademarks increase the value of the company's intellectual property, too. 

Interestingly, it was Amazon that compelled us to pursue a trademark. Even though we do not currently sell products on Amazon at time of this post (for many reasons we will not elaborate on here), we prevent the unwanted appearance of National Picnic items in its seller space by keeping our brand registered with their website. Amazon mandates an ® to enroll in their brand registry, a system put in place to try to ensure authentic goods. Now that we have it, though, it protects us elsewhere, too, so the process has strengthened our identity as a whole.

Trademarking National Picnic was an investment. Many startups and small fashion brands will never get to claim a registered trademark. But as we enter our 10th year of business in 2020, it became increasingly necessary. Even though a trademark won't guarantee longevity, we hope it further communicates that we plan to continue making clothing for the longer haul.