Ever heard of Gold of Pleasure?

Probably not.  Few people have.  “Gold of Pleasure” is a synonym for camelina seeds… a seed that is phenomenally delicious and apparently healthier than flax.  In our webstore, we list “Gold of Pleasure” as one of the aka’s for our camelina seeds and camelina oil. 

And, that is upsetting to someone.  Based on the voicemail message that I received … someone has taken a name that has been used by a small segment of farmers for centuries and have reportedly filed a trademark on the name.   People use it all the time as a competitive tactic to shove others (often small farmers) out of the market.  I haven’t returned the call … but I bet you anything that the threatening voicemail that I received this morning is a misguided attempt to sell us their product. 

I don’t care whether I market camelina seeds as gold of pleasure seeds or camelina oil as gold of pleasure oil.  I really don’t.   If they have a valid trademark, I’ll certainly take the name down.  It is an obscure name that noone cares about … except for the person who threatened me this morning.  In fact, if they were smart, they would be encouraging me to use the name, so that I can help build name recognition for an unknown product. 

Based on experience…here’s how it will go … I’ll call them back … they will tell me that I can’t use gold of pleasure unless I sell their product … I’ll say “thanks but no thanks because the farmer that I buy my camelina from is exceptional” … then they will fax me documentation that shows that their trademark for gold of pleasure will become valid in a few years, thereby making themselves looks stupid.  Most likely also, their trademark is still in the comment stage … and I’ll be able to give my farmer a heads up so they can stop the injustice.  Finally, they are probably threatening everyone that they can find.  The only effect will be that noone else will use “gold of pleasure” … ensuring that as the market grows, it will be known as something else … probably camelina. 

The interesting thing is that I’d bet this is central to the caller’s current marketing strategy … to alienate all of their prospective customers by threatening them.  Stupid.  And, one of the annoying things that I must deal with this morning.

Some advice to vendors:  If you want to sell me product … or if you, at a minimum, want me not to use something that you have trademarked or patented … give me a call … let’s discuss … I don’t want to violate any patents or trademarks, so I’ll definitely comply with the law … and maybe I’ll buy your product instead … but if you open the dialogue with a threat, all you’ll do is make me your adversary.  While that doesn’t create a “win-win” for us both … it definitely creates a “lose” for you because I’ll never buy your product.

PS: If you’ve never tried camelina seeds or camelina oil … you should.  It’s delicious … I wish people knew about it more … then maybe it would be selling as well as the ghost chili, another product that is emerging from obscurity.