Institute of Heraldry

[GroundHawg]

Vanguard is not helping I dont know if its a language barrier or if they are intentionally being obtuse ... Does anyone have a POC for the IOH that I can reach out to please?

[SierraOneThree]

There are numerous heraldry organizations/units. Which are you needing?

[GroundHawg]

There are numerous heraldry organizations/units. Which are you needing?

I am assuming National as it pertains to a design patent

[Fubar]

Google's top answer for "Institute of Heraldry" is one run by the U.S. Army and does have a contact email address prominently shared. Is that who you're looking for?

I'm afraid the way you posed your question and then answered "national" for what organization you're looking for is making it difficult to understand who you're actually looking for.

[PHall]

There are numerous heraldry organizations/units. Which are you needing?

I am assuming National as it pertains to a design patent

Design patent of what?   CAP Regulation 110-3, 25 January 2021 covers the CAP Heraldry Program, maybe your answer is in there.

[SierraOneThree]

I am assuming National as it pertains to a design patent

Yeah, check CAPR 110-3 and CAPR 900-2 as far as CAP corporate emblems and their usage is concerned. Vanguard and other retailers aren't going to be any use, they just print and manufacture what they're given.

If you need any help, the History section at NHQ has two emails and a phone number published on the NHQ contacts page on their website.

[SarDragon]

Here's a little primer on intellectual property (IP). It's broadly divided into three groups: patents, copyrights, and trademarks.

Patent - A declaration issued by a government agency that the inventor of a new invention has the sole privilege of making, selling, or using the claimed invention for a specified period. Physical things, like machines, processes, formulas, etc.

Copyright - The right by law to be the entity which determines who may publish, copy and distribute a piece of writing, music, picture or other work of authorship.

Trademark - A word, symbol, or phrase used to identify a particular company's product and differentiate it from other companies' products. Especially, such a term that is registered with a government agency so as to have legal protection against use by other companies. Coordinate terms: brandname, brand name, service mark, tradename, trade name, wordmark.

Here's a specific bit of law regarding CAP's IP:

36 U.S. Code § 40306 - Exclusive right to name, insignia, copyrights, emblems, badges, marks, and words

The corporation has the exclusive right to use the name "Civil Air Patrol" and all insignia, copyrights, emblems, badges, descriptive or designating marks, words, and phrases the corporation adopts. This section does not affect any vested rights.
(Pub. L. 105–225, Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1332.)

There's a lot more here: https://www.law.cornell.edu/ . Search for "civil air patrol"

[NIN]

Trademark - A word, symbol, or phrase used to identify a particular company's product and differentiate it from other companies' products. Especially, such a term that is registered with a government agency so as to have legal protection against use by other companies. Coordinate terms: brandname, brand name, service mark, tradename, trade name, wordmark.

I used to work for a company that had a name that was synonymous with its product.

Think like "Kleenex." That is the company's name, but almost nobody says  "I need a Kleenex®-brand facial tissue," they just say "gimme a kleenex."

Man, the legal and marketingfolks  were *death* on any employee who referred to the product by the company's name. 

(the company was "Segway." yes, that Segway. The product was the Personal Transporter, or "PT", but I challenge you to find anybody but a former Segway employee who will call that device anything but a "Segway."  Thanks a lot, Paul Blart!)

Relevant YouTube video I just found:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRi8LptvFZY