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The Tabberone™ Archives These articles concern what we consider major trademark and copyright issues. They are usually reproduced with the original source referenced. Bear in mind, these articles are copyrighted and commercial use without permission of the authors may be considered infringement. The intended use here is educational, commentary and non-commercial. The reason they are reproduced in the Tabberone™ Archives, as opposed to just providing a link, is because links disappear and pages are removed. That presents a messy confirmation process that is annoying to the browser (you) but also presents a credibility issue. We do not claim any rights in these pieces. Do not regard the absence of a copyright statement or © to mean the article is not copyrighted. Some sites do not have a copyright statement. When an article or a comment is posted on the internet by the copyright owner, the owner is seeking a world-wide, 24/7 audience; sometimes for a limited amount of time, sometimes indefinitely. In essence, an internet posting intentionally relinquishes one's copyright for exclusivity because the owner has posted it on the internet to been seen by everyone, everywhere. The Tabberone™ Archives non-commercial duplication of the posting is simply a continuance of the original wishes of the copyright owner. We post these articles for reference, for commentary and for confirmarion of our position.

Source: http://www.christinepalma.com/2007/08/09/johnson-johnson-sues-the-american-red-cross-for-trademark-misuse/

Johnson & Johnson Sues The American Red Cross for Trademark Misuse August 9, 2007 at 2:27 pm Posted by Christine Palma

Reported by BBC News:

Medical firm Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is suing the American Red Cross, alleging the charity has misused the famous red cross symbol for commercial purposes. The charity described the lawsuit as "obscene".

The hairs they’ll be splitting in court will be over what "drug, chemical and surgical products," Johnson & Johnson’s commercial domain, encompasses versus The American Red Cross’ right to license its trademark to Target and Wallmart for the manufacture and commercial sale of "health and safety kits," including "medical gloves, nail clippers, combs and toothbrushes" which compete with Johnson & Johnson in the marketplace. The BBC article goes on:

"After more than a century of strong co-operation in the use of the Red Cross trademark… we were very disappointed to find that the American Red Cross started a campaign to license the trademark to several businesses for commercial purposes," the firm said in a statement. J&J, best known for its Band-Aid bandages and baby products, first used the symbol as a trademark in 1887, the same year it was incorporated as a business. American Red Cross was founded in 1881 but did not receive a charter from the US Congress until 1900. A 112-year deal gives it exclusive use of the symbol, the firm says. The lawsuit argues that the firm reached an agreement with the charity’s founder Clara Barton about the commercial use of the symbol for certain products. It maintains that the charter did not give the charity the right to engage in commercial activities which would conflict with a private company.

Here’s a product sample:

Johnson & Johnson and Target/Red Cross Kits Compared
Johnson & Johnson First Aid Kit 170 Items $19.60 on Amazon.com		Includes: •9 Johnson & Johnson cleansing wipes. •Band-Aid Brand First Aid antibiotic ointment, .03oz; •1 Johnson & Johnson burn cooling gel,.04oz; •1 Cortaid advanced 12 hour anti-itch cream, .1oz. •34 Band-Aid Brand adhesive bandages, 5/8" x 2-1/4"; •30 Band-Aid Brand adhesive bandages, 3/4" x 3"; •20 Band-Aid Brand finger & knuckle flexible fabric adhesive bandages; •14 Band-Aid Brand spots adhesive bandages, 7/8" x7/8"; •2 Band-Aid Brand tough strips adhesive bandages, 1" x 3-1/4"; •2 Band-Aid Brand flexible fabric extra large adhesive bandages, 1-3/4" x 4"; •2 Band-Aid Brand medium adhesive bandages, 2-1/4" x 3"; •20 Band-Aid Brand butterfly closures, 1-3/4" x 3/8"; •10 Johnson & Johnson oval eye pad, 1.6" x 2.6"; •1 Johnson & Johnson first aid tape, 1/2" x 5yd. •2 Imodium AD Caplets; •2 Tylenol acetaminophen extra strength caplets; •2 Motrin IB caplets; •1 Light stick; •1 First aid emergency contact magnet; •1 Coach instant cold pack; •1 survival wrap; •5 finger splints; •1 Health care gloves; •1 tweezer; •1 First aid guide. •1 ready organized tray. •1 durable plastic shell.
Target®/ American Red Cross First Aid Emergency Preparedness Starter Kit $29.99 on Target.com		The kit includes both first aid and emergency items: •2 flashlights and batteries, •2 pairs of canvas gloves, •first aid/emergency preparedness guide, •transistor radio and batteries, •4 emergency ponchos, •survival blanket, •instant cold compress, •4 dust masks, •children’s activity booklet and crayons, •plastic drop cloth, •scissors, •breathing barrier, •adhesive cloth tape, •assorted adhesive bandages, •3" and 4" roll-type bandages, •triangular bandages, •absorbent compresses, •3×3" and 4×4" sterile gauze pads, •hydrocortisone ointment, •antiseptic wipes, •antibiotic ointment, •thermometers, •aspirin, •tweezers, •moist towelettes, •4 plastic whistles and •8 snap lights

In the PR battle, it’s Johnson & Johnson - one - and The American Red Cross - zero. By using words like "obscene" and throwing around fallacious emotional arguments, such as, "We are helping Americans" and "profits from their sale had been used to support disaster-relief campaigns," The American Red Cross dances around the legal ground. The decision of their board sounds like a case of "get the money we need" and "ask for permission later" if it becomes a problem. The public might be more inclined to support The American Red Cross if not for a lingering disenchantment with the non-profit over widely reported misuse of the 911 Liberty Fund, and the emotional strings they pulled to raise that money. In an opinion after the the Liberty Fund story broke, Pat Thurston from Counter-Punch wrote:

"The Red Cross in recent weeks has been airing tv ads with images of Manhattan, and they’re asking for money and the ads may not specifically say that all the money is going to the WTC victims. But the ads imply that. And when the intention is that only a portion of the $500 million-plus dollars to the families, I think that should have been abundantly clear. Less than10% of the money pledged to the Liberty Fund has actually gone to the families of the victims. I have a hard time accepting that the people making the donations expected that it would only be 10 cents on the dollar going to the victims’ families. There are family members of victims who have not gotten any help and there are some who are not going to go and ask for assistance even though people made donations so that they could be helped and there wouldn’t be as bad a financial hardship on them, after losing a family member, after all the grief that they’re suffering. I feel that people were taken advantage of. I don’t like feeling that way because I support the American Red Cross. They do excellent work. They may well have been overwhelmed by the amount of money that came in. I don’t like to think that there was some gleeful administrator there somewhere who went, ‘Ooooh. Look at all this money. Now we can fix this and this and this. Now we can go do all these outreach programs we’ve always wanted to do.’ … If I specifically want the money to go to the families, by God I want the money to go to the families! If you have to take 5% out to do administration, OK. … And if they want to hire mental health professionals, leave it up to them."