In 2012 the US Trademark Office issued a trademark to Shire City Herbals for exclusive use to the phrase ‘fire cider’ to describe a healing tonic of garlic, ginger, onion, horseradish, hot pepper, apple cider vinegar and raw honey. I know a lot of people were upset by it and wanted to challenge it. Consumers who are purchasing products such as Fire Cider do have an interest in herbs and natural healing and have most likely heard of or read Rosemary’s books. Part of HuffPost News. There has been a bit of a trademark controversy in recent years over the name “fire cider… I don’t know the company owners personally, so I won’t attempt to assume what their motives may have been or how they feel about all of this. i’ll be interested to hear what you find out! Natives of every land make plant medicines for the ailments of their peoples, so needless to say there are many variations on this cider. Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter. In the meantime, check out our blog & podcast! There’s the herb community and then there’s the small business hoping to grow at what looked like any cost. Herbalists and established herbal companies will need to unite in order to squash this. They have every right to trademark “Fire Cider” and stand by their trademark. I’m sure they’re nice enough people who are just trying to make their business flourish. The Fire Cider 3 Illustration by Margarat Nee.  Folks within the herbal community seem to not think about the vast number of people who have zero knowledge of herbal healing, and have no plans to learn more any time soon. I have handouts using the name, as does my teacher from earlier era. Read our Privacy & Health Disclosure Here. We cannot pick and choose which traditions and cultures most suit our needs and wants and simply take what we desire for the pickings, or the profits. These concerns are coming from herbalists and people deeply invested in the community who are making their feelings known about an issue close to their hearts. Thieves always reap what they sow. Fire Cider was not protected in any way before we registered it. A simple search via Google, Pinterest, Twitter reveals many individuals as herbalists or corporations were using the phrase Fire Cider prior to the application. This is the foundation of trust and reputation that has made other herbal suppliers and producers successful and resilient; I hope Dana, Brian, and Amy can see the value in that, and take the message to heart. Perhaps they could call it something like Shire Cider, trademark it, and include a non-trademarked generic description of the product (fire cider) just like other companies do. How can we safeguard the traditional use of the phrase fire cider, while at the same time protecting the businesses we have all worked to build? That’s what I want in my remedy!! I like to think that being a part of the herbal community means sharing knowledge with others to carry on a centuries old tradition. [For the purposes of this discussion, let’s use fire cider to refer to the traditional herbal medicine preparation, “fire cider” to refer to the term, and Fire Cider® to refer to the company who have trademarked the term. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. I’m struck by this on many levels, trademarking a folk medicine is a form of appropriation one which goes against the core of herbalism and wise woman healing. I posted a polite comment expressing my disappointment with their position and briefly explained why I thought they were on the wrong track. This way you can put your own good mojo into it (I swear by this—singing the tune “Got my Mojo Workin'” every time I shake it up. Or, you can be a chemist and make your own. Don’t buy from Amazon.com? The idea of trademarking a traditional folk medicine is counterintuitive, if it is not available to the people, then it is not a folk medicine. Fire cider is a traditional recipe that contains garlic, onion, ginger, cayenne, vinegar, and raw honey. This is no different. The end result is a hot and spicy vinegar. However if they decide to SELL IT (like on Etsy) they just can’t sell it under the name “Fire Cider” because Shire City Herbals trademarked it first. We are turning people on, but that takes lots of time, money, and resources. – if the blog author contacted you to request an exemption, or explanation, before making their post? The people at Shire City clearly know they are in trouble, and this is why there are trying to claim ‘secondary meaning’. Kind of like using herbs.  This means that to the general public, Fire Cider means brown bottle with a pirate on it that is made by Shire City Herbals. Working with herbs should be done with good energy and intent. Thanks again! (I will refer to it as a cider concoction henceforth, until the explanation of the controversy). (Sorry, just had to get that out of my system. Now this company has added yet another thing for the rest of us to worry about. I make it, I teach others how to make it. That includes “small” businesses that choose a name, and then fall back on the laws that have been created to support and protect capital interest and the ideology of “private or intellectual property rights”. I have to admit that we’ve screened comments posted here on our own site, when we felt they were destructive, irresponsible, factually incorrect, and damaging to the discussion at hand. I find it reasonable to imagine, though, that if they were to go to the USPTO and say, on the record, “it looks like this mark shouldn’t have been granted, it turns out to be a generic term after all” – then surely the term would go on record as a generic, and so all users would be protected from megacorporate usurpation in the future. In this day and age, it’s all about the Benjamins not ethics. The corporatization of America! I posted this to their Facebook page and will also send throughout the herbal communities I belong to, maybe public pressure will get them to reconsider. Use as a marinade for tofu, meat, etc. This is a battle they will never fully win. My first introduction to the milky sweet drink had me swooning to create my own GLobally inspired version which others have spun off on over the years. The end of summer is my most dreaded time of year. This is something I have often seen and it makes perfect sense to me. ], Fire cider is a traditional preparation of various spicy and pungent herbs macerated in vinegar and honey.photo credit: Fire Cider by The Dabblist, on Flickr. (At least they left the Four out and it’s not a vinegar…). Serial Number 85603738  In addition to being called evil, worse than monsanto, and a zesty grab bag of curses, folks have wished for us to fail and be rendered homeless, or alternatively to contract cancer to reflect our dead souls. I can’t see them allowing the herbs to meld with the vinegar for months at a time. The term “mark” includes both a graphic (logo) as well as words or phrases. We all spend all summer at the farmer’s markets trying to educate people. What these people did was not a smart move. Carry on! ) When selling it, make up a catchy name. You can at this time, challenge a trademark application if it conflicts with a business name or logo that you posses. Dana sent me this follow-up email today: Thanks for engaging with us in a civil manner about the issue of our trademark. You can also save the strained pulp and mix it with shredded veggies like carrots, cabbage, broccoli, and … However, I do stand by opinion that things could have been handled differently. However, I would never try to corner the name of a product without adding to the name and ingredients. Drizzle over steamed veggies. They were wrong. Then it’s branded as yours, yet the generic term is left open for use. Then if they market the product well, make it available to a large audience, perhaps Shire Cider would become synonymous with Fire Cider, while still leaving the term fire cider available to other companies for use. CORPORATION MASSACHUSETTS 115 Wendell Avenue Pittsfield MASSACHUSETTS 01201 Hopefully we won’t all bring each other down. It seems counter productive to take terms in use for many decades and allow them to suddenly be controlled by a single entity. They only make one product so they have put all their eggs in one basket. Give it up Shire. LIBRA is JUSTICE!!! So can Etsy stores name it “The Tonic Formerly Known as Fire Cider”? By their reasoning any person can trademark the words rhum or rum and make and market their own formulation. I agree with so many others, that would be like having only one variety of soap, or one variety of oatmeal or even only one variety of Merlot, (the last one being a definite shame!) Box 1450 Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, B. Er, I mean….Volcano Cider, Holy Toledo Cider, Mexicali Blues Cider, Flame Cider, Pele Cider (having lived on the Big Island, I’m rather partial to that last one). Herbalism is intrinsically about lots of people sharing, modifying, and adapting practices to their local landscape or the needs of their community. Join the HuffPost community – it’s free! Let’s face it…the folks at Shire screwed up and hoped the herbal community wouldn’t organize to stop them. An herbalist friend told me she was blocked from posting on the non trademarked pages as well after she questioned whether the measures being taken were actually necessary.. that it seemed almost militant… So the accountability of a public forum holds on both sides of the matter. Thanks! All press is good press in capitalism right? Thank you so much for posting this. OK, on the more optimistic stuff. Really appreciate you taking the time to explore the issues here and share them with us and to also compassionately express/explain/encourage a respect of ethics. Arguing about a patent on tradition is one thing but in this world of overwhelming money hungry entrepreneurs, having a little common sense would sure feel like a breath of fresh about but I live in a fantasy world. This is the first time I’ve heard. One of my favorite ways to start preparing for winter and beat my blues is by brewing a big batch of infused apple cider vinegar, known in the folk medicine world as ‘fire cider’. One is a store who is selling their product ..no special interest there except maybe no need for additional competition. https://www.thewitheredherb.com/blog/2014/1/16/the-unmentionable-cider-a-response-to-the-notion-of-trademarking-words. Forgive me, if I’m wrong, BUT wasn’t there a product made by Bragg’s sometime in the 60’s or 70’s named “Fire Cider”??? As we saw our business grow, it made sense to trademark our brand name. There’s also a great difference between moderating the discussion in a venue you control – your own website – and doing it on a social platform like Facebook. That doesn’t mean in casual conversation, people can’t call their product Fire Cider. How many of the judgers, who think “corporations/money/rich people are evil”, eat every single thing local? You'll get our next mailing. This comes shortly after I learned that Thieves® Oil is a trademark for an essential oil based on the Four Thieves Vinegar. Tap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you. They’re operating based on a flawed understanding of trademark law. Shire City has the power to change, they have the power to work with herbalists, and in the end, they now have the networks and funds to help support and strengthen the movement to legally place “fire cider” into the public commons where we believed it was, and believe it should be. And just for the record anyone who is dumb enough to announce that dana has promoted fire cider to more people in the world than anyone else….well not much thought went into that statement so here is my short answer~ you are wrong very very very wrong. United States Patent and Trademark Office Revoke Fire Cider Trademark, a petition to the US Patent & Trademark Office, organized by Rad Herb, . The controversy is over the actual trademark of the name “fire cider”. (I believe all of these Facebook posts are public, so you ought to be able to click right through.) 2. We offer herbalism training online through our podcasts, live Q&A sessions, and full video courses for dedicated learners. Jun 8, 2016 - Learn how to make Rosemary Gladstar's original Fire Cider recipe and chutney to help keep your immune system healthy, and to ward off infections. The cider concoction is a spicy and sweet folk herbalism recipe taken to alleviate symptoms of the common cold. This, to me, would speak much more to the product’s quality and would be a better marketing tactic. If you see Shire City advertising in your favorite magazine or showing up at your favorite conference, write and ask why their tactics are being …    Section 1001, and that such willful false statements may jeopardize the validity of the form or any resulting registration, declares that he/she is properly authorized to execute this form on behalf of the applicant; he/she believes the applicant to be the owner of the trademark/service mark sought to be registered, or, if the form is being filed under 15 U.S.C. No matter WHAT you call it, it’s easy & inexpensive and there are many variations on the recipe. As Katja put it earlier today, we herbalists need to remember that “this is not happening in a vacuum – there are other people watching. For them to attempt to expand their reach beyond this is unwarranted and quite possibly not a right guaranteed them with a secondary trademark. While the exact ingredients of the fire cider vary, the core herbs used tend to be onions, garlic, horseradish, ginger and cayenne or other hot peppers. Surely many people throughout history have made fire cider-like remedies. Already the herbal market is saturated with regulations. The argument that is made in the herbalism community is that you cannot trademark a tradition, which essentially fire cider is. You act fast! If anyone should trademark the term is it her, but I bet she wouldn’t do that 🙂. It’s totally messed up. Plus I wonder just how effective their product is as it’s massed produced. 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