KMK Law Intellectual Property Blog

You may be tempted this time of year to create advertising featuring The Elf on the Shelf^® (“TEOTS”) interacting in humorous ways with your product or service.  DON’T!  While your audience may engage and enjoy such a campaign, TEOTS products should not be used to promote or endorse your products or brands.  TEOTS’s 2015 Specialty Retailer Asset Guidelines state that doing so without express written consent from TEOTS may constitute intellectual property infringement.  There’s likely a more updated version of these Guidelines; nevertheless, the twenty-page .PDF makes it clear that TEOTS is very deliberate with its brand identity.  Don’t end up on the naughty list – next year, plan ahead and get early approval from TEOTS.