NOT a Onesie
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This is NOT a Onesie!
The item pictured at left is NOT a onesie. Why? Because it is not a product made by Gerber, and onesie® is a trademark of the Gerber corporation, which they vigilantly protect. They have threatened legal action on thousands of small businesses who dared to call what they sell onesies. But you won't find any onesies on this page! Just information about how to find other cute legless snapped to fit baby tees and bodysuits, and a discussion of how Gerber's practices affect businesses and shoppers.
What Do You Call It, Then?
Onesie has become the common vernacular for this style of clothing. But since companies other than Gerber can not legally describe their product as a onesie, shoppers who search under this term expecting to find products from various companies may be disappointed. If you want more variety when you shop, you can try searching under one of the common alternative names below:
- infant bodysuit
- creeper
- crawler
- snapsuit
- onepiece
- vest (the term for this in the United Kingdom)
How it Affects Small Businesses
Generally, when businesses make the mistake of calling their products onesies they don't realize that they are violating Gerber's trademark--they think they simply using a common term for an item of clothing. Businesses who make this mistake may later have to spend countless hours changing product titles and descriptions. When the term "Onesie" is used in their URL they can loose the traffic and customer base they had built up at their former website if they are forced to change it. This is in addition to the traffic lost from search engines after the term onesie is removed (since most people search for that word, not it's alternatives, when looking for this type of product). Furthermore, business cards, flyers, and other promotional material a company or small business owner has printed may need to replaced.
Below are some links where you can read stories of how business owners, crafters, and even part-time sellers on ebay have been affected. If you have been affected by Gerber trademark and have shared your story online, please leave a link in the comments box at the bottom of this page and I will list it here.
Below are some links where you can read stories of how business owners, crafters, and even part-time sellers on ebay have been affected. If you have been affected by Gerber trademark and have shared your story online, please leave a link in the comments box at the bottom of this page and I will list it here.
- Onesie! Onesie! Onesie! or, the Silliness of Gerber
- A copy of a letter by Gerber to a business owner, and her discussion of it.
- My Onesie Oopsie!
- Last week I listed some one piece outfits on eBay as Onesies, and I accidentally got in trouble with the Gerber company. ...
- a grecco: {Onesie, What?}
- Another Ebay seller asked to remove the term.
What Do You Think?
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These are NOT Onesies!
These Are NOT Onesies Either
...at CafePres they are bodysuits!
POLL: Did You Know?
I was curious how many people knew that the name Onesies was trademarked.
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Share This Site
If you would like to link to this site, and would like a nifty graphic to go with your link, feel free to grab the graphic to the left. Just rightclick and select "Save Image As" to save it to your computer. Soon I hope to get some nifty copy paste code here for you but I'm still working on that. Until I can upload this on my own server, please do not remote link as I'm not sure how Squidoo feels about this. Thanks!BUSINESSES: You are welcome to use this graphic on your own site without linking back here, though I do appreciate link backs. I can see where it might be a useful graphic to link to a section on your own site explaining why you don't call your product a onesie.
Share Your Comments Here
I'd love to hear what you think about this issue!
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marsha32 Dec 2, 2011 @ 10:26 am | delete
- It was interesting in one of your other lenses I just had open there is a whole section for an etsy store that is all listed as Onsies....I wonder if she makes them with Gerber Onesies? Her descriptions don't say. Just one of those things that make you go hhmmmm....but Gerber doesn't need to be that way about it either!
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- Good information to know. That's just like Kleenexs and Band Aids are household words for tissues and bandages.
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lbrummer
Sep 27, 2011 @ 2:49 pm | delete
- Whatever they are called, they still are cute on the tiny babies. I'll probably still call the onesies, even if I know they probably aren't Gerbers.
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goldenecho
Sep 27, 2011 @ 2:57 pm | delete
- Oh, of course. It's not as important if you aren't a business. But I hope if people are aware they will search under some of the other terms so that all the other people who sell these cute things don't loose out.
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GypsyPirate
Sep 27, 2011 @ 9:18 am | delete
- I had no idea that "onesie" was copyrighted and that there was such turmoil over it. I respect Gerber for trying to protect what is theirs, but I think they need to face facts. Kleenex is copyrighted also, but you rarely have someone ask for a facial tissue - they want a Kleenex, no matter what brand it is.
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by goldenecho
I'm an artist and webmaster and mother of three. I make lenses on Squidoo to earn donations for charities which support causes I care about.
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