So in 2020 I trademarked the word Grantenatal for my online grandparent classes which I run several times a year, not quite every month but most months. Today BBC Woman's Hour ran a feature on grandparent classes - an interview with a company called Happy Baby Happy Parents who also run grandparent classes.....
AND THEY ARE USING MY TRADEMARK.
They have "grantenatal" all over their website. Pure infringement.
Now I appreciate that they have a bigger publicity budget than me so kudos to them for getting on Woman's Hour, but I have looked into their class (I paid full whack to go on it) and it's not like mine at all. It might suit some people but I found it extremely patronising, personally, and I made sure that my course did not resemble it in any way whatsoever.
I'm just a 65 year old doula and grandma trying to scrape a living - Happy Baby Happy Parents is a big company which runs highly profitable antenatal classes basically by having great PR, cramming lots of couples into frankly unsuitable venues and giving no indication of how their courses are assessed or moderated, or even what they are telling parents.
I knew when I hit on that trademark that it would get copied as everyone says "what a great name" but I didn't realise how violated and upset I would feel as a result.
I have written to them and to Woman's Hour but if there are any lawyers reading this, I'd appreciate your thoughts on what to do next!
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Good Morning Monday 29th April 2024
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