Seeking Free Legal Advice: I have a question concerning State Parks. I volunteer at various parks that DO NOT have a retail section; no shirts, hats, etc. promoting their particular...

Travelin' Bud Loc: New Mexico, Central Ohio & Eastern Kentucky

I have a question concerning State Parks. I volunteer at various parks that DO NOT have a retail section; no shirts, hats, etc. promoting their particular park.

Do you think it would be legal for someone unaffiliated with said park to design a shirt/hat along with the name of the park to retail out on their own?

Just curious is all.

Thank you!

ricardo7 Loc: Washington, DC - Santiago, Chile

Yes, this is the perfect forum to solicit legal advice. I've also
found the armchair physicians here to be excellent as well.

Photocraig

Free Legal advice is VALUE Priced.
I suspect the name of the park and associated symbols are protected by the State. They, by the way, employ many lawyers that you help to pay. Imagine hiring a lawyer to defend yourself against lawyers you're also partially paying for, too.

Make some pictures instead.
C

Travelin' Bud Loc: New Mexico, Central Ohio & Eastern Kentucky

ricardo7 wrote:

Yes, this is the perfect forum to solicit legal advice. I've also
found the armchair physicians here to be excellent as well.

And armchair politicians and coaches, etc.. it's just a conversation topic. I appreciate your insight on the topic, though.

Travelin' Bud Loc: New Mexico, Central Ohio & Eastern Kentucky

Photocraig wrote:

Free Legal advice is VALUE Priced.
I suspect the name of the park and associated symbols are protected by the State. They, by the way, employ many lawyers that you help to pay. Imagine hiring a lawyer to defend yourself against lawyers you're also partially paying for, too.

Make some pictures instead.
C

Yep, I knew that the symbols/logos would be, but wasn't sure about the name if not accompanied with the symbol/logo.

Travelin' Bud Loc: New Mexico, Central Ohio & Eastern Kentucky

Travelin' Bud wrote:

I have a question concerning State Parks. I volunteer at various parks that DO NOT have a retail section; no shirts, hats, etc. promoting their particular park.

Do you think it would be legal for someone unaffiliated with said park to design a shirt/hat along with the name of the park to retail out on their own?

Just curious is all.

Thank you!

I understand that this seems like a stupid, ignorant post to most of you on this forum and I apologize if I've insulted your intelligence but look at it this way: I've given you something unconstructive to do with your time.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Travelin' Bud wrote:

I have a question concerning State Parks. I volunteer at various parks that DO NOT have a retail section; no shirts, hats, etc. promoting their particular park.

Do you think it would be legal for someone unaffiliated with said park to design a shirt/hat along with the name of the park to retail out on their own?

Just curious is all.

Thank you!

Why don't you check with the park service of the state(s) you are thinking of doing this in?

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Seriously and without snarky remarks.....

I spent a lot of time as a camp host in a WA State Park. One of the things I learned was that all of the rules and regulations were direct from the "Revised Code of Washington" (RCW). In other words, it is in the "State Law".

This is what it says: "WAC 352-32-195 Solicitation. Except as may be otherwise allowed in connection with a permit issued under WAC 352-32-165 or 352-32-047, or a cooperative agreement pursuant to RCW 79A.05.070(2), no person shall engage in commercial solicitation, or sell or peddle any services, goods, wares, merchandise, liquids, or edibles for human consumption in any state park area, except by concession or permit granted by the commission.

Any violation of this section is an infraction under chapter 7.84 RCW."

Can you imagine what it would be like if the parks were lined with vendors?

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Travelin' Bud wrote:

I have a question concerning State Parks. I volunteer at various parks that DO NOT have a retail section; no shirts, hats, etc. promoting their particular park.

Do you think it would be legal for someone unaffiliated with said park to design a shirt/hat along with the name of the park to retail out on their own?

Just curious is all.

Thank you!

Bud, I am not a lawyer but I would think if you sold it on Ebay it is outside of the Park you designed. To be sure consult an attorney.

Travelin' Bud Loc: New Mexico, Central Ohio & Eastern Kentucky

bsprague wrote:

Seriously and without snarky remarks..... br br I... (show quote)

Thank you! I appreciate your comments and non-snarky response. I wasn't really considering retailing out of the state parks. As a volunteer, I already know that's not allowed. I guess I was just thinking of online sales for those who would have enjoyed a momento of their visit.

I can tell already that it's a bad idea. LOL

Photocraig

Travelin' Bud wrote:

Yep, I knew that the symbols/logos would be, but wasn't sure about the name if not accompanied with the symbol/logo.

No intent to be snarky here, I HATE that. I just think there is a very narrow tightrope to be tread and I doubt it would be worth it from a personal profit making point of view. However, you say you're a volunteer. I have seen items that were sponsored by volunteer organizations and "Friends of XXXXX Park" sorts of things. Since the Parks all depend and appreciate their volunteer staffs' contributions, perhaps a conversation with the Head Ranger along the lines of a fund raiser could work.

Thanks for your service to the park. They are very under funded and your help allows them to do what they do best.
C

Dannj

First: Thanks for being a volunteer!
Second: Free advice is generally worth whatever you pay for it.
Third: Logos, tms, etc would be off limits but you could probably get away with photos you've taken.

Just my opinion😊

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Travelin' Bud wrote:

I have a question concerning State Parks. I volunteer at various parks that DO NOT have a retail section; no shirts, hats, etc. promoting their particular park.

Do you think it would be legal for someone unaffiliated with said park to design a shirt/hat along with the name of the park to retail out on their own?

Just curious is all.

Thank you!

Free legal advice is pretty worthless like free Architecture.
Sounds like you need to get a real lawyer for such a question and pay them for real advice. That way if they are wrong you can sue them from jail.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

Travelin' Bud wrote:

I have a question concerning State Parks. I volunteer at various parks that DO NOT have a retail section; no shirts, hats, etc. promoting their particular park.

Do you think it would be legal for someone unaffiliated with said park to design a shirt/hat along with the name of the park to retail out on their own?

Just curious is all.

Thank you!

You might need a permit from the state.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

First: not everything in life HAS to always be capitalized. Sometimes people enjoy sharing professional knowledge with others in a setting without unrealistic expectations attached without money changing hands.

My thoughts (and I am not a lawyer): You face several issues: one is the issue of copyright - the name of the park is probably in the public domain, so you probably would not get in trouble for using it. Any logos or images most likely are copyrighted. If you plan on actually selling or even promoting your materials within the park, that is probably not going to fly. Can you sell on E-bay? Probably - the most that would probably happen is that you would get a "cease-and-decist" order. I like the idea of checking to see if there is a "Friends of...." organization.