Showing posts with label Christmas Elf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas Elf. Show all posts

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Elf on the Shelf and Other Copyright Protection Pitfalls




Elf on the Shelf season is almost upon us, and for a number of balloon companies, it could inevitably spell the misery of disabled social media accounts, or worse a potential lawsuit! Honestly, any one of a number of heavily trademarked companies will pounce on the small independent companies who actually have no idea that they have done anything wrong! Unfortunately, breaking the "rules" on social media is easier than you may realise! So, are you committing copyright infringement and don't realise that you are doing it?


Kyrstin De Leeuw, CBA of The Balloon Store in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, creates her very own super cute Christmas Elf 

Every year, I see posts on Facebook balloon related groups where someone share their woes of their 'lost' Instagam or Facebook accounts!  A ballooning friend of mine told me that her business Instagram account had been disabled before Christmas for violating Instagram Community Guidelines  - her account was never restored and a cheeky little "Elf on the Shelf" had something to do with it! 

I personally have nothing against these elves, but they can have the habit of getting businesses into trouble, especially at this time of year! 



What is the 'Elf on The Shelf'?

The Elf of the Shelf character actually comes from a beloved children's book which tells the tale of Santa's little elf who enters the house at Christmas time to report back each night on who's been naughty and who's been nice. This iconic character is known for hiding itself in a new location each morning and has evolved into a cultural phenomenon by which a stuffed toy elf appears in many households in the lead up to Christmas. A festive month-long game of hide and seek ensues with many children and their parents, with the little one's looking forward to waking up each morning in December to find out where the elf has got to that day.

With the arrival of the stuffed elf toy being so eagerly anticipated each holiday season, many balloon companies have realised that they too can spread a little extra cheer each year by sending toy elves out to their customers. Often, the elves are sat astride stocking filler baskets topped with beautiful balloons! This can be a really fun way to kick off the festive season for lots of families.

Ok, What's the Harm in Doing That?
While it may seem like great fun to join in the "trend", businesses must always remain wary of the copyright infringement risks that surround this iconic character. You may think 'You can't copyright an idea!', but actually you can... it's what is know as 'intellectual property' a concept which protects an original idea from being copied without the appropriate credit and requital to its creators; in this case, the authors of the children's book. The character and phrase, 'Elf on the Shelf' and derivatives of it have been copyright protected, meaning use of the phrases without express permission from the copyright owners could lead to legal action. Having recently checked, it looks like Elf on the Shelf now have copyrights on over 50 words and sayings that have some relevance to their elf character... in other words, there are very few elf related words that are safe to use in a hashtag! 

The same is true for many trademarked characters, which is why when creating balloon designs, it is important to be wary of using protected names and imagery unlawfully. An example of this would be selling counterfeit foil balloons that depict popular children's TV characters. If in doubt, it is best to only purchase such supplies from approved licensees and to look out for the copyright © / trademark logo ®  as an indication that the supplier has express permission to license and distribute that brand.

Creating any likeness of a copyright protected character is also likely to be prohibited by law regardless of if you have created it yourself as you're still profiting off an 'idea' that isn't yours. For instance, twisting yourself a 'Mike the Mouse' character with whimsically large black ears, red shorts and white gloves could still get you in trouble with the people at Disney because you are still attempting to make money off the idea of the character which they created aka their 'intellectual property'. Your version must be different enough that it cannot be considered a direct copy.

The likelihood of a copyright owner finding an infringing image online is low if the image is not tagged with anything that links it to the trademark. So, avoid using hashtags, names, phrases and in generally any wording that is specific to trademarked characters and you're much less likely to get flagged in a copyright dispute.

How Can I Avoid Any Issues Going Forward? So, back to our whimsical elf; while the phrase and concept of 'elf on the shelf' is protected, the word 'elf' by itself isn't trademarked (it's very hard to trademark single, commonly used words...) and there's no harm in simply selling stuffed elf toys for families to use as they please...

It is definitely worth thinking about ways to still let customers know that you can offer what they're after without stepping on the toes of the established brand. It may mean getting creative with your wording for instance, 'Hide and Seek Elf' or 'Find Me Elf' and altering aspects of the idea enough that it's not considered an infringement. It is worth doing research beforehand to avoid getting you business into trouble.

So my advice to you is to stay clear of using any hashtags to promote goods and services that you offer that could land you in trouble, it is definitely not worth it! 



I would like to thank Jade Fraser, Marketing Manager from BAPIA Ltd. for co-writing this post.

Happy Ballooning!

Sue 
Follow @suebowler





Thursday, November 11, 2021

'Jingle All The Way' with these Festive Preparation and Christmas Balloon Design Ideas!

Christmas Gnome Design  By Sue Bowler CBA - www.suebowler.com
Christmas Gnome Design 
By Sue Bowler CBA.




During Christmas 2020, many were obligated to stay at home and avoid spending time with family and friends due to coronavirus restrictions. I know we are all hoping that Christmas 2021 will be a very special celebration as a result of last years lack of celebrations. With that in mind, it is time to get our businesses ready for Christmas if you haven't already started! 







And November is the perfect time to start marketing for Christmas:

Decorate your shopfront: 

 

How fabulous is this display by Trish Robertson of Barossa Helium Balloons and Party Supplies in Tanunda, South Australia. Trish was inspired to re-create Luc Bertrand's beautiful QuickLinks Santa Mural  which has taken centre-stage in her window! 


  • Decorate your outdoor area with festive window art, banners and decals. 
  • Inside, get shoppers in the Christmas spirit by playing your favourite seasonal tunes and lighting some autumn and winter-scented candles to set the mood. 
  • If your shop is on the smaller side and you’re concerned about capacity (and your ability to enforce social distancing), think about ways to get people shopping without the crowds — like hosting virtual or limited-capacity events or scheduling personal shopping appointments.

Trish said; "I look at my window as real estate, just like shelving in stores is real estate. But the window is the most important real estate because it can decide if someone comes in or not. The other thing I don't do is fill it. I keep it simple so it jumps out. 

Trish also leaves her lights on in her store allowing her window displays to keep on working even when the store is closed!  

Deck out your website:

Your digital space is just as important as your brick-and-mortar location. So, if you have a website, make sure to decorate your digital "shopfront as well — whether it is through creating a curated gift shop page, adding a Christmas decor-inspired banner to your homepage, or changing your colour scheme to incorporate more festive colours.


When it comes to decorating your website and social media pages, don't forget that Qualatex has some excellent FREE marketing materials, such as this animated Facebook cover (above) and other helpful seasonal social media posts (see below) that can be personalised to suit your business or ready made to simply pop into your campaigns. For a direct link to all the Ready Made Social Media Posts and other marketing materials click HERE






Christmas Decor Ideas:

For me, air-filled and personalised designs are the way forward! Here in the UK, Christmas for the balloon industry really kicks off with the a naughty elf, known by many as 'Elf on the Shelf" arriving in family homes on the 1st of December.
The Christmas elf is fast becoming an annual tradition in many homes. The elf is a special scout that is sent to children's homes from the North Pole to encourage kids to behave themselves. The idea is that Santa's little helper watches the children by day, and each night, it returns to the North Pole to report on whether they were naughty or nice. 
This Christmas tradition has just two rules: First, children are not allowed to touch the elf or it will lose its magic. 
Second, the elf will not speak or move while the kids are awake. The elf only moves at night when it makes its trip back to the North Pole. Once it returns home, it then assumes a new position in the house.
"Elf on the Shelf" was created by Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell in 2005. The concept is heavily protected by copyright laws, and therefore anyone making and selling elf balloon designs should be very careful not to infringe copyright laws. 

There are a number of different manufacturers of this cheeky little character, with varying different names - Naughty Elf, Elves Behaving Badly, Elf for Christmas are all protected by copyright rules and laws. My recommendation is to do your research to ensure that you don't infringe on any of them, as it can be a costly mistake! 

One of the most appealing ways for the elf to arrive is inside a balloon! 


Christmas Elf Balloon by Naomi Spencer of
Candy Bubbles in Birmingham, UK.

I’ll be Gnome for Christmas! A fun and whimsical design for the holiday.


Designer name: Eve Antonello, CBA, Pioneer Balloon Company, Wichita, KS, USA

The Gnome tradition came to us from Scandinavia. Unlike the elves of other cultures, which reside at the North Pole, legend has it that gnomes pop out of their forests niches come Christmas Day, and walk through the front doors of homes to hand-deliver presents.

The top ten hashtags for gnomes are #gnomes #gnomesofinstagram #gnome #gnomelife #gnomesweetgnome #gnomestagram #gnomelove #gnomehome #handmade #handmadegnomes 


Shine Bright! It’s all things merry and bright with Rudolph!

I absolutely love this design by Cam Woody! Everyone loves the Red Nose Reindeer at Christmas and Cam has created a fabulous air-filled design that would take pride of place in any home. If you are a QBN member, there are step-by-step instructions available to recreate this adorable design. Simply sign in using your QBN number and then you will be able to view and download for future reference! 


Designer name: Cam Woody, CBA, Pioneer Balloon Company, Wichita, KS, USA

Happy ballooning! 

Sue
Follow me @suebowler