Unlike many of his peers in the jewelry world, New York-based goldsmith Ray Griffiths has a track record of swiftly shutting down knockoffs of his designs.
Two years ago, an entrant to a US design competition submitted a literal replica of one of his signet rings, featuring his signature pierced crownwork aesthetic in gold — a move he quickly curtailed with a cease-and-desist letter from his attorney. Four years before that, at a high-end jewelry trade show in Las Vegas, one of his fellow exhibitors unveiled a line of designs that also featured his crownwork in gold.
“My lawyers drew up infringement papers, and I served them to the brand at their booth, as well as the show organizer,” explains Griffiths. “I was polite about it, but I told them that that patternation was an infringement on my product.”
His weapon of choice? A trademark from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that he has consistently renewed since the body accepted his application in the mid-’00s. The latest iteration, which he registered in 2017, states that “the mark consists of a repeating pattern design formed by an open grid, with the repeating pattern appearing over all or a substantial portion of the goods.”
Following his stern warning to the show and the brand, the offending pieces were pulled from cases at the trade fair, and the brand changed its crownwork effect to a different pattern.
Layers of protection
Griffiths trained as a goldsmith on crown jewels in his home country of Australia, bringing those skills and design preferences with him to the States in 1998. As he built his brand and executed pieces in his signature look, he realized that look was a distinctive and recognizable one. He consulted an intellectual-property lawyer, who agreed it was worth protecting and encouraged him to file a trademark for use of the pattern in jewelry, along with a descriptive phrase the USPTO would recognize as a further layer of protection: “Look for the Grid.”
His lawyers explained the move to him this way, he recalls: “Vaseline is just petroleum jelly, and at a certain point, Vaseline could no longer be trademarked, because it became a generic expression. Vaseline added ‘For Intensive Care’ so it could be trademarked again, because it argued that intensive care was what it provided for the skin.”
Over time, his trademark has gathered strength and made potential offenders rethink replicating his product. However, enforcing the trademark is key.
“I have a record of going after people who copy my product,” he says. “When the company entered my signet-ring design into the awards competition, they said they had never seen my jewelry, but they didn’t have a record of previous designs with it on their website. I sent this information to my lawyer, who said that the company’s further use of my pattern would get them in trouble. And if they made it again, they would have to pay the bill in court, so it wasn’t a winning proposition for them.”
What’s the process?
While most designers bemoan the expense and difficulty of securing a trademark for their designs, Griffiths dismisses those excuses.
“It wasn’t that time-consuming or expensive,” he says. “You must have a clear visual identity that you can explain to the USPTO, a good lawyer, a little bit of money, and some patience.”
Still, it took him two or three tries — and about two years — to get his trademark. The USPTO said no on his first go, so he applied again to explain what he felt the body had gotten wrong.
“They sent me back examples of a grid on fabric, but I said my pattern was an open one on metal in jewelry, not a weave that’s closed,” he explains. Ultimately, the USPTO understood.
“People can do the grid in plastic or on chairs, but they can’t make it in jewelry — that’s what my trademark pertains to,” elaborates Griffiths. “We’re discussing visual aesthetics, and that’s part of getting a trademark.”
The total sum for this peace of mind? About the cost of a new economy car.
“Intellectual property needs to be protected, and makers need to be proactive and aware of expiration dates for renewals,” he cautions. “Brand identification has value, but a trademark is only good if you enforce it. If you let everyone copy your work, what’s the point of having one?”
Main image: Goldsmith Ray Griffiths. (Ray Griffiths)
