[UPDATED] Pasadena's Dervaes Family Trademarks the Terms 'Urban Homestead' and 'Urban Homesteading,' Now Cracking Down on Bloggers

http://dervaestrademark.wordpr...

A year later, they are still doing it. I just wrote a post about it, and they flat out denied to one of their readers that they are doing anything. www.mysuburbanhomestead.com

is it applicable in Canada, just asking as I have got some ideas.

They are a bunch of nutballs... It's so VERY sad.. I followed them for years. However, between the religious innuendo and their thinking they have the corner on the urbanhestead name... I've lost ALL respect for them . I now find them to be weirdo capitalists.. No thanks!

Judith, none of what you said matters as far a TMs go.  The fact is that the Dervaes TMed it first.  For example, Rodale TMed "Bicycle" for its magazine (and also Bicycle.com).  By your definition that wouldn't have been allowed.  Yet, it WAS done.

Actually, the terms have been in common use since before 1976. In that year, Mother Earth News had an article about The Integral Urban House in Berkeley, CA, one of the modern pioneers of urban homesteading, a project that started up in 1974 (and was a kickass urban homestead, by the way). The article used the term "urban homestead" with no definition or explanation, to refer to the IUH and also to several other pioneering urban homesteads in other cities. One was in London, I believe.

I am sure that the terms were in common use in the early 1970's.

So has anyone figured out how to cancel their illicit trademark yet? It was an error to allow them to do it ... Who is in charge of it? We need to get our ducks in a row and find out what bureaucrat to focus our appeals on. Does anybody have a name, a website, an email, a phonbe number that leads to decisive action being taken. Please let me know, let us all know.I bought Urban Homesteading ... http://www.amazon.com/Urban-Ho...

I hate hypocrites. Especially sanctimonious ones.

I wonder if they will go head to head with the state of Texas. http://library.findlaw.com/199...

Our goal is to cancel Dervaes trademark "urban homesteading". You can find answers for trademark questions, copies of documents regarding "urban homesteading" trademark -approval and registration etc. - http://www.denverurbanhomestea.... Dervaes has no exclusive rights to use the phrase, he doesn't own the phrase. Registration in Supplementary Register gives very limitted rights to trademark owner. Dervaes has no rights to order Facebook to disable pages. Support us to cancel unwanted trademark.

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New Update!!! The Dervaes were caught plagiarizing Michael Nolan from My Earth Garden!!!

http://www.myearthgarden.com/2...

Those rotters, they plagerized someone else when they wrote their own website. I can't believe the nerve of those people, what a family!http://www.myearthgarden.com/2...

To Fellow Blogger: It looks that you ARE connected to Dervaes if you like them so much. We don't need their permission to use OUR ENGLISH GENERIC PHRASES AND WORDS. It is insulting to ask for such permission. We are fine WITHOUT Dervaes websites and never ever need to visit them or use any content of their websites. there are many other urban homesteaders with free and honest advise who doesn't try to privatise common words. We are happy WITHOUT Dervaes. Their lie that they don't disturb bloggers is ridiculous because they order to disable Facebook pages. So I want public to know that Dervaes has no rights as they claim. Urban Homesteading trademark was registered in Supplemental Register. It means that it is merely descriptive. Descriptive marks (or more properly, "merely descriptive marks") are devices which merely describe the services or goods on which the mark is used. If a device is merely descriptive, it is not a mark at all, since it does not serve to identify the source of the goods or services. No trademark rights are granted to merely descriptive marks. No secondary meaning was developed by Dervaes to make it a protectable trademark. Most of people believe and there is sufficient proof in the internet that Urban Homesteading is generic phrase and therefore is incapable of functioning as a trademarkThe benefits that apply to Supplemental Registrations are: 1)the mark will appear in trademark searches, and that the registrant is given the right to use the ® symbol in connection with the mark. 2)In addition, having a mark registered on the Supplemental register will assist in achieving registration of the mark in certain foreign countries.3)Finally, Supplement Registrations can be used to help prove exclusive use of a mark for a five year period, which is one of the ways in which secondary meaning may be proved to the U.S.P.T.O. Even if no opposition is filed, and the application becomes registered, it is still possible for a third-party to object to the registration of a particular mark. This objection is usually made through a cancellation proceeding, which is similar to an opposition proceeding except that it takes place after registration. You can find more information on http://www.bitlaw.com/trademar...

The Dervaeses are trying to hide the backlash to their actions by controlling comments on their youtube videos . Any "new" folks interested in Urban Homesteading deserve to know about what they have done. If they are "proud" of their actions they should leave the comments up and defend themselves.............we're listening.

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Since I have no good reason to deny their legal right to protect their lawful trademark, I wrote the Dervaes and asked permission to use the term on my monetized blog. Their response?

"Hi ---

Thanks for your email, sure do appreciate your writing!

We are sorry too and sad to see that this thing has gotten out of hand withso much false and hateful misinformation.

The "FYI trademark" letter was PRIVATELY sent to only 16 businesses/groupsand publishing companies.  Bloggers like yourself weren't intended to evenknow about this, no there's so much confusion.   So I am sooo glad youwrote!

Yes, indeed. Feel free to use "urban homesteading, urban homesteading" anduse with PRIDE!!!!

Love your blog, wishing you ALL the BEST in your journey.

Blessings & hugsAnais"

Despite the educated and mature nature of the term, "dingbat", it's not the one that came to mind when I read Anais's response.

Words more along the lines of "kind", "supportive" and "friendly" warmed my heart.

The Dervaes have freely offered to the world years and years of experience, tips, advice, comprehensive instructions and inspiration in this lifestyle. They didn't have to. I suppose by getting a blog they were putting themselves at risk of being torn apart by grossly exaggerating, misinforming and angry people like you.

Their integrity will prove you wrong.

Think harder, friends.

I know! I've been trying for the longest time to get Better Homes & Gardens (r) to give up their ridiculous legal right to keep me from selling my own periodical that just happens to be titled the same thing. For 6,000 years people have been striving for "better homes and gardens" - how dare they register the term as if they invented it!! Let's start blogging about that while we're at the Dervaes throats. We'll just overthrow the whole system and then no one will have any property and we'll live like wild dogs! We'll revert to a state of lawlessness where no one has any rights and survival of the fitest is law of the land. Then we'll have some kind, understanding person rise to power and create a system that will protect us and provide for us in our lazy impoverished state {unfortunate consequence of anarchy/communism}. Then the state will give us our meaning and usher us in Utopia! And we'll all be content as ignorant slaves.

What people find to get all riled up about!

I firmly believe that the Dervaes family's honest and God-honoring integrity will prove that you cut-throat critics are lying and just trying to create a nest of hornets to stir up.

I pity your lack of better things to do, and hope someone reading this will have enough integrity and sense to find out the truth and not blindly swallow this hogwash and regurgitate it mindlessly under the guise of an opinion.

How about simply "prior art" usage in national publications like the New York TimesIt appears in an article "That Big Farm Called San Francisco"http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04...Do I understand they registered this generic term in late 2010?My goodness what silliness. The trademark should not be valid.

I thought the whole point of the 'movement' was to have people follow in their footsteps. they should be proud that their ideas are being used and shared. oooh...i guess they are doing it just for the money then, guess you can't grow that green stuff in your backyard raised bed garden can ya??

And they are using the wrong symbol! what they have is a service mark, not a TN--\

What total scum bags these jerks are. Hopefully enough people will file challenges to get their'trademark' overturned.

Urban Homesteading is a right of ALL families!!!

http://urban-farming-fl.blogsp...

http://www.motherearthnews.com...

you can use neighborsteading

I agree that such common phrase like "urban homesteading" shouldn't be trademarked at all. But it can be done in connection with Dervaes activity not in general as they think. Trademark law doesn't allow him to act unlawfully in Facebook. He has no rights as he claims. He has rights to go to Federal court only but it is very unlikely that anybody in court will support his ambitious claims for phrases and prohibition to use them in society. I don't see anybody in his family who can understand trademark law or any law. They figured out that facebook will follow their request without any verification and proof. And they used it. Finally our society will be able to get rid of those trademarks - we must do it now. "Urban Homesteading" is in Supplementary register. Anyone can file Petition to Cancel. Anybody with urbanhomesteading non-profit established a few years ago can easy be successful in cancellation of this trademark. "Urban Homestead" already has a lawer to file paperwork. More people do it - better. May be Trademark Office will be more reasonable to register common words as service marks or trademarks.

Dervaes wants money to become a landlord and get control of 60 families. He needs millions of dollars for his crazy idea and he wants all urban homesteaders to pay him royalty because of his trademark. He isn't satisfied that he obuses his own family. His poor kids have no normal life. Read about this family - read carefully and see which kind of life his kids had and have. One son Jeremy escaped from his father's control, and he hides from them now. He told to some people that obuse in the family was horrible. You can see from the article that Dervaes doesn't let his kids to have personal life before they move to a big land with 60 other families. Poor kids! They waste their life for farther's cruelty and they don't understand it. They didn't go to school. I can imagine which kind of eduction this religious fanatic could give to his kids. Read this sad family story:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ear...

Just wanted to add the extensive list of Google Scholar hits for "Urban Homestead" pre 2000. For anyone who may be looking for more scholarly references.http://scholar.google.com/scho...

Oh, and my suggestion is for the Dervaes' to copyright "Urban Losers" and "Most hated urban homesteaders of all time." Clearly idiots.

Let's call it Urban-ay Omesteading-hay.

Shame, shame, SHAME on the Dervaeses. What they've done is about as productive and honest as trying to trademark terms like "back to the land" - oops, I certainly don't want to give them any ideas.

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Garden of Eden has its tempting Serpent telling them to eat the apple... The "You're Cut-Off" reality t.v. show has them all wrapped up with Materialsm and b.s.

Sombody find the email of the U.S. Patent/Copyright office and get the Dervaes copyright REVOKED!

Just like hidden los angeles on facebook. She stole the idea from the book, has filed papers to trademark it, and now sends out cease and desists. People need to get over themselves and realize they did not invent the concept.

Not sure how one goes about trademarking anything but who was the bozo who approved the Dervaes' application in the first place.

Their most recent blog post states that they are just "urban homesteaders like the rest of you." Yeah, well now we can't call ourselves that thanks to your legal handiwork!

Dervaes Institute: From Urban Homesteading to Urban Backstabbing...

Not BIOtifull!

What about all those pictures on their blog they use that are not theirs? Old canning posters and pictures, pictures of Little House on the Prairie, and many others. That's copyright issues there. I hope the true owners of those pictures find them on their site without the proper credit, acknowledgment, or permission to use them on their blog.

Urban homestead. Urban homestead. Urban homestead.

(sorry, I just felt juvenile this morning)

How sad.

I expect they are Thought Police, not Though Police.

After reading this I have decided to patent the English language, then sue everyone for using it. Who here has the seed money to help me? In helping me patent the English language I will give you exclusive rights to use one and only one word of my choice, the rest you'll still have to pay for.

For you crazies out there who think I am really going to do this? GET A LIFE!

Here's a petition to sign if you're into that sort of thing:

http://www.change.org/petition...

Their greed will come back and bite them...it will only take some time. They will receive a blight on their family and it will be deserved.

This is about making money pure and simple. The problem here lies with the family being allowed to enter a trademark on a word or series of words that have been in use for a lot longer than this hair-brained idea. To even suggest that they are the ones who first coined those words is lunacy at best. GOOD LUCK PROVING IT IN COURT. Hope they have deep pockets it's going to cost much money to defend

Dervaes's trademark is in SUPPLEMENTAL REGISTER. It means that they almost have no rights. Obviously they have no rights for any exclusivity on this common phrases. The problem is with Facebook that terminates accounts immediatly on violation of trademark rights. Facebook doesn't investigate and search complicated Trademark Law. We still can start CANCELLATION PROCEEDING (and we need to do it), file A PETITION TO CANCEL in US Patent and Trademark Office and create a precedent to prevent future appearance of new dervaes. We are damaged because of weak points of the Trademark Law, unethical behaviour of Dervaes and unfair treatment of Facebook.