Celebration of CDH Awareness Daily EVERYWHERE - April 19

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) is a severe birth defect that occurs when the diaphragm fails to fully form, allowing abdominal organs into the chest cavity and preventing lung growth. CDH affects 1 in every 2500 babies. 50% of babies born with CDH do not survive. The cause is unknown.

Since 1995 when the first charity for CDH was formed, families around the world have worked together to raise Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia awareness through ribbons, posters, events, fundraisers and other products and activities. Over 700,000 babies have been born with CDH since 2000, yet most have never heard of this birth defect that is as common as Cystic Fibrosis and Spina Bifida.

Several non-profit organizations, informal groups and 1000's of families in 38 countries recognized the baby blue, pink and yellow cloud ribbon as the official CDH Awareness Ribbon. It was chosen through voting, owned by no one and is not associated with any trademarks or copyrights.

Http://www.facebook.com/cdhawareness

April 19th was chosen as a day to celebrate awareness of CDH but also to remind the public of the important of raising Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness daily. The specific date was chosen because it marks the anniversary of a landmark trademark removal of "Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness". The entire community fought together to remove that trademark, the first trademark on awareness of any cause, a trademark that was used to harm and threaten many CDH families who sought to raise awareness of this birth defect.

http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=92050284&pty=CAN&eno=2

Another trademark was also filed on the phrase "Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Day" and still stands on record, including a ribbon of another color. It has not yet been appealed.

http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77640674

http://tdr.uspto.gov/jsp/DocumentViewPage.jsp?77640674%2FSPE20090101064714%2FSpecimen%2F1%2F29-Dec-2008%2Fsn%2Ffalse#p=1

On April 19th, we invite ALL families, charities, groups, hospitals and friends to join the world's largest CDH charity, CHERUBS, along with 1000's of others including Congressmen and celebrities to work together to raise awareness of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia and promote CDH Research through the $50,000,000 Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Research Bill. Though we celebrate awareness, it is research that will save the lives of these babies.

http://www.cdhbills.org/

"Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness" trademark and CDH Summit Update

Several weeks ago, CHERUBS put out an olive branch to try to end the turmoil surround the trademark on CDH Awareness and all the ensuing drama, slander and juvenile behavior that has plagued our community so that we can all move forward and focus all of our time, efforts and resources towards helping families affected by Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. 

CHERUBS is very disappointed to report  that the trademark settlement / peace conference / CDH summit will not take place.

Breath of Hope, Inc has decided that they will not attend any meetings to discuss the trademark and other issues.  They do not want to work together and do not wish to discuss any common goals to work positively for the CDH community and that they still want to retain the trademark.  

This is the last of several attempts that CHERUBS has made to try to bring peace to the CDH community and to protect all CDH families right to raise awareness.  Every attempt has been denied.

As a goodwill gesture, we have offered not to contest their trademark on Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Day and let Breath of Hope have their day and their proclamation without our CDH parents participating at all to avoid more drama, threats and attacks.  Even though that trademark and the proclamations are being used in their argument that only Breath of Hope should be able to use the phrase Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness.   We simply as that the trademark on Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness be removed and all charities, groups, researchers and families be free to raise CDH awareness in peace.  Elizabeth Doyle-Propst is not open to any negotiating.

This is very disappointing because it is in the entire CDH community's best interests for all CDH groups to work together for the common good.   We extend our apologies and regrets to all those affected by this trademark and this drama.  We tried but we have failed to put an end to this nonsense.

We have already had several complaints and issues filed against us again in the past few weeks in regard to our volunteers using the phrase "Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness" without permission of Breath of Hope, Inc.   We also received an "anonymous" threat that we will be reported to the IRS if we try to lobby a Congressional Bill against the trademark - a threat that seems is not empty. 

Also in the past few weeks, an inaccurate blog posting that "CHERUBS is suing" Breath of Hope was posted by that group.  This is not true and is a twist of facts.   Breath of Hope, Inc filed to own a trademark on "Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness" and then began to subject CHERUBS to various company complaints, federal complaints, state complaints, etc.

We have no choice but to continue the fight against the trademark on "Congential Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness" to protect our organization and the entire CDH community.   We will also continue to work on the Congressional Bill to help protect all causes from this type of corporate greed.

2 New CDH Bills In Congress - We Need Your Help!

We've spent a great deal of time at CHERUBS talking to our lawyers this week and also we Advisors have been very, very busy for over 2 months now.

We have 2 projects that we'd like your help with:

1. A Congressional bill for CDH Research funds (http://www.cdhsupport.org)

2. A Congressional bill making it unlawful for anyone to own a trademark on awareness of a health or social issue (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cdhawareness)

CDH Research is obviously needed and we've been talking about this for a while... I believe it was first bought up years and years ago here at CHERUBS. Time to get moving on that!

The anti-trademark bill would be called "Cherubs Law" for ALL babies affected by CDH. It would not only stop this trademark on CDH dead in it's tracks but it would protect all diseases, birth defects, issues, etc from ever having anyone try to own and profit off of awareness again. This would also save 2 years of legal work by our (pro bono) lawyers and the other party's legal bills - and put more focus by all groups involved where it should be instead of fighting this ridiculous trademark - helping families affected by CDH. But FYI - the trademark legal battle will wage on until "Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness" is free to use and raise by anyone.

Both bills are PRO-ACTIVE ways to help CDH families and babies NOW. They are positive steps to major CDH research and to keep all awareness free. Sure, we could write other pieces of paper or raise some research money ourselves - but CDH affects 1000's of a babies every year - we can't wait any longer on abstract awareness bringing research money down the road possibly. Maybe. Some day. CDH needs research now and at CHERUBS we're already doing that research ourselves in the form of our studies and we're promoting the research of hospitals. But wouldn't it be wonderful if the government gave those researchers millions to research CDH right now?

Both bills will be a cinch to pass in Congress - how could they vote no to either? We just have to get them to Congress.

This is where we need your help. We need a Congressman / Congresswoman to submit the bill. With 3000 members, surely one of you has some Congressional connections that would greatly benefit the CDH community and these babies.

If any of you have connections to Washington, please contact me at dawn.williamson@cdhsupport.org

New Graphic on stopping trademarks on Awareness

Because this trademark affects more than just the CDH community - it's a precedent setting trademark that could harm all health and social issue awareness. Feel free to use this graphic any way you'd wish!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cdhawareness/index.html

It is now being used on Facebook's group Health and Socially Conscious People against Trademarks On Awareness:

"The United States Patent and Trademark office has passed the first trademark on awareness of a health issue with the trademark on "Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness". CDH is a devastating birth defect and now the medical community and families affected by CDH are limited on using this phrase - thus hindering awareness.

This is the first and only trademark of it's kind that restricts awareness by trademarking awareness! Our tax dollars at work! This opens the door to trademarks on "Breast Cancer Awareness" and "Autism Awareness" or any of the other 1000's of health and social issues.

This group is started to raise awareness of the trademark on awareness and to take a stand against this insanity. "

Just a few of the 100's of news and blogs articles on this trademark:

http://boingboing.net/2009/01/08/group-wants-to-own-t.html

http://www.likelihoodofconfusion.com/?p=1850

http://techblips.dailyradar.com/story/petition_against_congenital_diaphragmatic_hernia/

http://techdirt.com/articles/20090108/1724263341.shtml

http://stanford.wellsphere.com/pet-health-article/urgent-cdh-awareness-trademark/35892

http://cdhmomma.blogspot.com/2009/03/graham-owns-congenital-diaphragmatic.html

http://corinscrazylife.blogspot.com/2009/03/i-own-congenital-diaphragmatic-hernia.html

http://www.lockergnome.com/lumpy/2009/01/08/trademarking-awareness-for-a-disease-no-i-am-not-joking/

http://wickedwolfj.livejournal.com/22822.html

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Trademark

A fund has been set up to cover the fees for opposing the trademark of "Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness"

http://www.firstgiving.com/cdhawarenesstrademark

This fundraising page has been started to pay for the USPTO trademark opposition fees of $300. This page has been started because general donations made to a charity should not be used to fight such legal battles that should not have to be fought in the first place. CHERUBS refuses to use donations made in good faith in honor or in memory of a child to combat a trademark application filed to prevent all CDH families from raising Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness freely. Our lawyer is working against this trademark pro bono.