First Look: The New “Certified Ceremonial Cacao” Trademark | #PSC 236
OVERVIEW: Episode 236 of #PodSaveChocolate takes a First Look/Hot Take at the newly announced Certified Ceremonial Cacao certification trademark – what it is, and what it isn‘t.
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Episode 236
A couple of weeks ago, someone in Instagram contacted me about a new ceremonial cacao initiative: Certified Ceremonial Cacao.
Regular viewers of PodSaveChocolate will know of some of my recent coverage of ceremonial cacao, specifically debunking Maïa and Naturalistico.
Clay Gordon
Maïa
Clay Gordon
Naturalistico
This episode will not be a debunking.
Rather, it’s a conidered examination for what the certifications claims are – and what is not being claimed.
The TL;DR: This effort appears to be an earnest, honest effort to provide clarity to a segment of the market that is clouded by conflicting claims and, unfortunately, populated by some (to me) less-than-honest actors.
In this episode I will discuss:
- What is a “certification” trademark and how do they differ from regular trademarks?
- Who is behind the certification
- What they are trying to do
- Who it applies to (who can be certified, and where)
- How much certification will cost, and
- How and why it’s important to read closely
To prepare for this episode I read the Certified Ceremonial Cacao website carefully (several times over a week) comparing what is on the home page with what is on the FAQ, Certified Products, and Blog pages. I also examined relevant USPTO and IRS documents. Finally, I reached out to the founder with a set of questions I had after that research.
The answers to my questions demonstrated an openness and willingness to engage, as well as exposing the care and thought given to the issues at hand.
That does not mean I don’t have more questions – but I don’t sell ceremonial cacao products. So, I will raise some questions that I think need more complete answers that – if you’re interested in this certification – you will want answers to before you apply.
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