The USDA announced earlier this week that the USDA organic seal has been trademarked with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Registration of the seal increases the USDA’s ability to take action when the image is misused. Although the seal was already protected by the Organic Foods Protection Act (OFPA), now that it is trademarked, the USDA will have additional authority. The registration will allow the USDA to restrict the use of the seal or others that are confusing in their similarity. Further, as the owner of the trademarked seal, the USDA will be able to seek additional civil penalties such as monetary damages when the seal is misused. Willful misuse of the trademarked seal can now result in fines and even imprisonment under the Trademark Counterfeiting Act.
OneCert applauds this development and agrees with the USDA that the trademarked seal significantly increases the “cost of fraud”! This is a big step that will aid in enforcing compliance and preventing fraud.
What does this mean for certified operations already using the organic seal, without the registered mark?
Certified operations may continue to use existing approved labels without the registration mark, so label stock does not need to be revised or discarded. Although the trademark authority is in effect even when the registered trademark symbol is not present, OneCert and the National Organic Program (NOP) encourage operations to begin using the USDA organic seal with the registration symbol. The next time updates are made to labels, we encourage operations to download and use the new artwork that is available on the AMS website (see link below).
Lastly, remember that regardless of which version of the seal is used (trademark or no trademark), certified operations must seek approval from their certifier before making any changes to labels!
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