The Pet Butler franchise chain has no registered trademark. It never did. And now the franchisor of some 80 poop-scooping franchises is trying to register with the United States Patent and Trademark Office but having considerable difficulty.
Pet’s application and request for reconsideration of trademark has been rejected by the Trademark Office. The relatively goliath Pet Butler name is too close to an already registered dog waste removal company, a 2-unit small independent business in the Pacific Northwest, Dog Butler. So Pet petitioned to cancel Washington-based Dog’s trademark, and in turn its pending application is suspended until the outcome of the Dog cancellation is known.
Such trademark uncertainty puts additional risk and financial burden on potential franchisees, who assume that the trademark is part of what they are buying. Franchise unit owners incur business expenses in relation to the company marks. Worse yet, franchisees must rebuild a brand presence with existing customers when they have to change their name.
Mr. Nick Bibby, a franchise consultant and principal of the Bibby Group, comments, ‘It is a disservice to franchisees as well as to the entire network to market an unprotected name. The development of brand recognition is a pivotal element in successful franchising and it cannot be done when standing on quicksand.’
How Does a Franchisee Know If a Franchise Has Trademarks? Sometimes Not Easily.
Pet Butler Trademark Application Suspended
December 5, 2007 by Cris | 2 Comments
In Brand, Franchisees, Franchises, Negatives and/or Positives, News
FranchiseBrief.com on December 6th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
WOW! So that means that many franchisees bought into the franchise system for its brand, operating model and trademark but in the end there is no trademark! I’m going to be the devil advocate here but trademarks are included in the UFOC which every potential franchisee HAS TO read prior to signing the franchise agreement. It is also highly recommended to have the UFOC reviewd by an experienced franchise attorney. So what happened here? Nobody noticed there was no TM? Assuming the franchisor clearly stated a TM was pending in the UFOC, Pet Butler didn’t do anything wrong to me.
Dr. Jones on April 10th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Beware!!
I have been a victim as well as have knowledge of others that have had first hand knowledge of how this company uses business practices that are unethical and illegal. I feel someone should be investigating the way they do business. I am ready to blow the lid off this company with documented proof of mentioned actions by this company.