Jump to content
Existing user? Sign In

Sign In



Sign Up

Rearz drama


Recommended Posts

Trademark application

 

It seems like they wanted to be the only ones able to market their diapers as ABDL diapers and steal the market, so to speak. They went for it in October, but people found out and were obviously pissed. "You don't own us". "The acronym isn't yours". Etc. Seems like a practical business move if it could have been sneaked through, forcing others to re-brand themselves to cater less to the target audience, leaving Rearz in a better position to exploit our market. But it's also a huge dick move, in my opinion.

Link to comment

I think it's also important to not try and use terms like "practical business move" if it essentially disrupts the market. It's a selfish, brand destroying move, sure but not practical, as that has some kind of positive connotation. I see it all the time in gaming circles. EA and Warner are making "practical" moves by gouging their customers and breaking their own games to get more money out of people. I'm not saying you agree with them, I just think the language surrounding how we discuss these companies can also stand to change. 

Edited by Storytime (see edit history)
Link to comment

From what I’ve read, they were attempting to get a trademark on “ABDL” because a lot of websites such as Amazon or eBay we’re blocking their listings because they were using a term that those websites consider an Adult Sexual Fetish term.

And if we’re being completely honest with ourselves, it is.

But Rearz apparently thought that they could get around that if they had “ABDL” as a trademarked term.

What they didn’t count on was the backlash from ABDLs because of this.

The attitude was basically “That’s our word. You don’t own us.”

And a combination of the backlash and a realization that they probably couldn’t even trademark ABDL in the first place, caused them to back off and give up on the idea.

Link to comment

I think the people at Rearz know nothing about how trademarks work and got taken to the cleaners by some lawyer. You can't not defend a trademark or copyright and keep it like they claim they were going to.   

I doubt the courts would support trying to trademark an acronym that has been in use since before your company existed. 

Edited by WildRoseBaby (see edit history)
Link to comment
10 hours ago, Bothan1138 said:

From what I’ve read, they were attempting to get a trademark on “ABDL” because a lot of websites such as Amazon or eBay we’re blocking their listings because they were using a term that those websites consider an Adult Sexual Fetish term.

Would that matter though? I just checked and both Amazon and Ebay carry lots of dildos, bondage gear, chastity cages, etc. They also both have some ABDL clothes and diapers listed with ABDL in the name, and even a selection of Rearz diapers (through a third-party seller on eBay, direct from Rearz on amazon).

Link to comment

This reminds me a lot of that episode of Kitchen Nightmare's where someone trademarked the word "hun" in a Southern town and garnered tons of hatred from everyone because of it, heh.

I don't think things like this should ever be trademark-able. The backlash is 100% expected and justified. I don't know what the companies intentions really were, but this was a really stupid idea regardless.

Really, that's like me trying to trademark the term Omorashi.

Link to comment

Trying to trademark ABDL would be like trying to trademark LGBT or BDSM. Foolish because...

1: No court is going to allow it because use of the term pre-dates the company by decades, they didn't come up with it so they can't own it.

2: Even making the attempt is going to generate a LOT of backlash from members of the community.

Now that word has spread through the ABDL community I expect Rearz days as a company are numbered.

Link to comment
22 hours ago, DeltaFoxtrot said:

Now that word has spread through the ABDL community I expect Rearz days as a company are numbered.

I kinda doubt that.

They’ve already admitted that they screwed up.

Now it’s all down to customer service and the quality of their products.

And while I haven’t had the chance to try any of their stuff yet myself, I’ve seen some pretty good reviews.

Link to comment
3 hours ago, Bothan1138 said:

They’ve already admitted that they screwed up.

Now it’s all down to customer service and the quality of their products.

And while I haven’t had the chance to try any of their stuff yet myself, I’ve seen some pretty good reviews.

They're only sorry because they got CAUGHT.

But you are correct in that the consumer is very fickle and has a short memory. If Rearz keeps putting out a decent product many people will likely keep buying, even though they know exactly how the company actually feels about the community.

Link to comment
1 hour ago, DeltaFoxtrot said:

But you are correct in that the consumer is very fickle and has a short memory.

I’m not sure if that’s the way to phrase it, but I get your point.

Internet outrage tends to be intense, but short lived.

1 hour ago, DeltaFoxtrot said:

If Rearz keeps putting out a decent product many people will likely keep buying

From the reviews I’ve read or watched, a lot of people love their products. Especially the Safari diapers.

1 hour ago, DeltaFoxtrot said:

even though they know exactly how the company actually feels about the community.

Maybe it’s just me but the attempt to trademark ABDL doesn’t really seem malicious to me.

Money-grubbing perhaps, but not malicious.

Link to comment
5 hours ago, Bothan1138 said:

Maybe it’s just me but the attempt to trademark ABDL doesn’t really seem malicious to me.

Money-grubbing perhaps, but not malicious.

It was malicious to other companies that make ABDL diapers.

By extension, it was malicious to anyone who prefers other brands of ABDL diapers, because it would have restricted the ability of other companies to market their ABDL diapers and therefore limited those people's access to their preferred diaper.

Link to comment

*shrug*

Well, either way, I doubt they would have been awarded the trademark anyway. It isn’t a term they invented, so they almost certainly would not have gotten a trademark on “ABDL”.

And since they don’t have it trademarked, and likely can’t get it trademarked, the only business they potentially hurt in the process was their own.

And the effect on the community is minimal. Some outrage and some potential boycotting, but it didn’t actually do anything harmful to the community.

Link to comment
57 minutes ago, Bothan1138 said:

And the effect on the community is minimal. Some outrage and some potential boycotting, but it didn’t actually do anything harmful to the community.

They tried to do something malicious. If they succeeded - however unlikely that may have been - it would have hurt the community. The reason it hurt their own business instead of the community is that the community got outraged and forced them to back down. None of this makes it okay for them to have tried it in the first place.

I personally probably won't buy their diapers again. I can think of two other companies that make ABDL diapers and - as far as I know - neither one has ever tried to pull shit like this. You could think of it as a boycott, or you could think of it as a selling point that their competitors now have: never tried to abuse IP law.

Link to comment
Just now, Bothan1138 said:

Tried and failed. And was unlikely to succeed in the first place.

You’re upset about something that could have happened, but didn’t.

It makes no sense to me to be upset over some imagined worse case scenario that never actually happened.

But that’s just my two cents.

If I caught someone trying to break into my home, but I yelled at them and they stopped, I'd still be mad at them.

That's how doing bad things works. If you try to do a bad thing, but you fail or someone stops you, people still get mad at you for trying.

Link to comment
2 minutes ago, Bothan1138 said:

Oh come on.

They were stupidly trying to get a trademark, not rob your damn house.

They were trying to abuse IP law for profit. That's less bad than trying to break into my apartment, but still bad. Likewise, I'm less mad at them than I would be at someone trying to break into my place. The same rules apply, though. They tried to do a bad thing, they were stopped, but they still tried.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...