Ellie Keils, a Farmington Hills woman, proves Ty
has the power and a heart! Ellie Keils is the creator of "The
Beanie Chase" This game has been a godsend and a nightmare
all rolled into one.
Shortly after Ellie released her game for sell, Ty's attorneys
contacted her. Ellie was informed that she had infringed upon
Ty's trademarks and could no longer sell her game.
Beanie Chase History
Imagine how excited I was, when I received a letter from a
businesswoman wanting me to endorse her game. After many conversations
with the creator of the game (Ellen Keils) and after viewing the
game, "I gave it a big thumbs up". Ellen has captured
the Beanie collectors dream with (The Beanie Chase) This game
allows you to chase Beanies in the luxury of your own home. The
game is of high quality and is sure to be a smashing success in
every home.
Ellie and husband Ken have two beautiful children, Johnny
and Joey. Ellie worked at Ford Motor Company as a Mortgage Closer
and Ken ran his own brick laying business.
Ellie was inspired to produce "The Beanie Chase"
after a dream she had, which had her chasing Beanies all over
town. The Beanie Chase was released and received overwhelming
support. In short, everyone loved it!
Ellen is a woman after my own heart. She had a dream and no
matter how difficult life became, she still followed her dream.
Creating and manufacturing a product is not only very stressful;
it is also very costly and time consuming.
I recall the day Ellie called me devastated about Ty's cease
and desist order. I felt so helpless. I wanted to take a stand
and help Ellie, but I also realized that this was not my fight.
Many collectors are confused about the legal right to the
word Beanie. Until recently, I myself was even confused. Although
Ty does NOT own the word Beanie, they do have a VERY strong mark
on the word. Ty Warner is the owner and creator of the world famous
Beanie Babies. Ty has used the word Beanie since late 1993 to
market his product. The use of the word Beanie has given Ty a
STRONG trademark law to the word. Ty also owns the copyrights
to each of the original poems, which are printed on the swing
tags, along with the Beanie names. Many company's have infringed
upon Ty's other trademarks, which probably forced Ty to protect
what was rightfully theirs. Unfortunately, Ellie was used as an
example. Learn by this example and don't let this happen to you!
I'm very happy to report that Ty and Ellie have come to an
agreement. Ty has agreed to allow Ellie to sell "The Beanie
Chase" for a three-month period. The sale of this game will
allow Ellie to recoup her investment. Ellie will also be required
to report to Ty on a monthly basis with sales figures.
I briefly interviewed Ellie after this agreement was made.
The following questions were asked by myself, and answered by
Mrs. Ellen Keils.
Ellie, I can only imagine the stress and fear you have experienced
in the last few months. How has the litigation with Ty affected
your life?
At first I was absolutely heart broken. I had created this
game based on the FUN that I had experienced chasing Beanie Babies.
I have had to cope with so many personal tragedies in the last
year; the game was something that kept me going.
In addition to the hurt, I was extremely stressed and terrified
to say the least. I was concerned about mine and my husband's
health and the welfare of my two small children. I decided to
quit my 8-year-old job at Ford Motor Company to stay home with
my family. That was a frightening decision because of the financial
burden that the law suit and the loss of our entire life saving
was putting on our family.
However, I know it was the right one, because my family comes
first. I truly believe there was a purpose for this whole experience.
I have learned how much my family means to me, that lesson is
worth more than all the money in the world.
Now that you and Ty have come to an agreement, please
try and describe your emotions.
Relieved - I felt personally responsible for
the stress brought to my family since the game was my idea and
I talked my husband into investing our life savings.
Grateful - Although I am very disappointed that
this will be the last of "The Beanie Case" I am grateful
that Ty decided to work with us and not destroy our family for
something that I believe was a huge misunderstanding.
Hopeful - I hope that Ty does know that my intentions
were always honorable, I simply feel in love with their product
and the fun I had chasing them. When I got the idea to create
a game, I went with it!
Appreciative - The real tragedy would have been
if the games were destroyed and no children were allowed to be
able to enjoy them.
I would also like to thank everyone for his or her tremendous
amount of support. Not only was it heartfelt but it also helped
me through a very difficult time.
I realize that many companies and collectors offered
their support in regards to this matter. What kind of advice would
you offer to anyone who is contemplating on producing a product
using Ty's Trademarks?
I'm so glad you asked this question. If I had known that Ty
did not support Beanie Baby spin-offs, I never would have created
the game in its present format. I must stress to anyone who is
planning to invest money or time into anything to do with Ty or
any other company, please get permission and don't assume anything.
Even though we had a Patent Attorney from day one, we are
now finding that the law has many gray areas, which we were not
aware of. We were never informed to have a jury to decide these
issues it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. "No
thanks".
No one will ever know what we experienced the last three month.
'Small family against a large corporation' and not to mention
the enormous amount of time and energy invested in making the
game.
Sure, we got our 15 minutes of fame, we have great topic discussions
for future family gatherings, but we also have a few gray hairs
and wrinkles to add to the list as well. The good news is
we survived. We only wish Ty had made their policies known
sooner.
Your game "The Beanie Chase" has gained worldwide
publicity. In my opinion, the popularity of the game is hotter
than ever! If collectors do not have Internet access, how can
they purchase your game?
Fax - 248-477-4552
Address:
Johnny Goodsport Enterprises, Inc.
P.O. Box 457
Farmington MI 48332
The cost of the game is 24.95 plus 5.00 for shipping.
In closing I would like to make the following
comments.
I would like to thank Ellie for allowing me the opportunity
to follow this story from beginning to end. I realize that many
publications will write this story, but also know that NONE of
them have had the direct involvement with the issues as they unfolded,
as I did.
Sometimes corporations may be forced to show their hand in
regards to protecting their copyrights and trademarks.
If you are in the process of manufacturing a product, which
may be in competition with Ty's Beanie Babies or may infringe
upon their trademarks, you may want to reconsider.
Ty may not own the word Beanie but they do have common law
on their side.
Ty has proven that they can be as meek as a lamb or as protective
as a bear. We all know what's been said about bears, they protect
their young, or in this case, "Beanie Babies".
This article was written by:
Janie E. Daniels
Commonly known as Ms. Janie on the Internet
September 25, l998
