22 August 2025 --- Ralph

I began thinking about names for WeatherWool in 2007.   We were making plans and thinking about names for a couple of years, and we finally filed the LLC paperwork in 2010, and we set about protecting the WeatherWool name right away.

At present, the following pieces of Intellectual Property have legal standing:

• WeatherWool is a registered trademark in the USA (United States Patent and Trademark Office) and Great Britain, Japan, Australia and the European Union
• Hardcore Luxury is a registered trademark in the USA
• Best Wool in the Woods is a registered trademark in the USA
• WarriorWool is a registered trademark in the USA
• Lynx Pattern is copyrighted in the USA
• WeatherWool.com is copyrighted in the USA and hopefully elsewhere
• Phone Numbers (sort of).  I don't know if we have any legal rights to our phone numbers.  Maybe the phone company can snatch them back.   But our "1776" numbers, particularly our main number, 831-704-1776, which means FOURTH OF JULY, 1776, is a big deal to me
• Videos and Imagery.  YIKES, we have invested what is, to me, a lot of cash here, and it's all copyrighted, as far as I know!

Our IP work is handled by Polson Intellectual Property Law.

Because I like stories, and because stories are about all I can remember anymore, here are a couple of IP/USPTO stories ...

When "Average Joe" starts a business, the usual situation is that more money goes out the door than comes in. So, from even before WeatherWool, I have interacted with USPTO directly in an effort to cut costs. Their lawyers have been very helpful and friendly, and they tend to be animals working 60 and even 80 hours a week. I've spoken with two or three of them on Saturday nights. One night I was talking with a trademark lawyer, and he was really going out of his way to deal with me. But finally he said something like: "You really should retain an Intellectual Property Attorney. I promise you, it will be the best money you ever spent."   So I took his advice.

But before I had routinely brought all my IP issues to Polson, I had registered WeatherWool on my own. The trademarks don't last indefinitely, tho, and need to be regularly renewed. At one point, the PTO sent me some kind of renewal notice, and I did not handle it properly and in a timely manner. So I was horrified to receive a notice from the PTO telling me that registration of the WeatherWool trademark was ABANDONED.  At that point I asked Polson to re-register WeatherWool and to handle all my IP. The advice from the USPTO lawyer was spot-on!

All of the registrations are symbolized by a registration certificate. Here is the CERTIFICATE OF TRADEMARK REGISTRATION, issued by the JAPAN TRADEMARK OFFICE, for the mark WeatherWool. 

As of 2025, we have been granted to use the IP of the Innes Ranch of Gillette, Wyoming.  Our Batch 11 is also (and preferably) know as Batch Innes-1.  All of the fiber for this Batch was grown on the Innes Ranch in 2023 and 2024.   And Bob Innes gave us permission to use the Innes Ranch Brand on Innes-1 (and subsequent Innes Batch) labels:

The Innes Brand is legally registered with the State of Wyoming, and can only be used with permission of the Innes Family.  Branding is not usual for sheep, but this is one of the brands used to identify Innes Ranch cattle.  I think this is the first time we've used anyone else's IP!

Recently, I've been focusing on the various standards and tests and certifications that are potentially of interest to us.   I haven't chased any of them, yet, and not sure I will.  There are a flock of companies we could work with.   It would take a lot of time and effort and, if we worked with all of them, listing all the certifications on our labels would be ridiculous.  Plus, it would take a lot of time and money, on an annual basis.  My solution, if it actually IS a solution was to come up with the term 100% WeatherWool Certified Fine Wool, and of course, I have a page devoted to explaining what our own certification means.   I should probably apply for a trademark on 100% WeatherWool Certified Fine Wool.   But given that it uses our trademarked name, I don't know if there is an advantage.

And I'm always trying to figure out concise ways to express what we are doing here.  Maybe we'll try to trademark Our Best Expression of Nature's Creation.