AUBURN, Wash.– After a lengthy legal battle, Dawn Goodman, owner of Ball & Chain and inventor of the I.O.U. series of romantic games, has won the right to the registered trademarks corresponding to her products.
In 2003, when Dawn Goodman designed the original edition of I.O.U., she had no competition. "Back then, no one had a romance game called I.O.U., and the mark was not registered in the industry," she says. The game's distinctiveness won it plenty of admirers, launching Ball & Chain and selling well with Goodman's distributors.
Because she was the first, she owned the intellectual property of the I.O.U. game design. However, another company had registered the name with the intent to use it for card games remarkably similar to Goodman's, thereby delaying her ability to register her property.
Once that initial interloper cancelled its attempts at registration, Goodman began the trademark process once again—only to find that yet another imposter had swooped onto the scene.
"I was finally registered and waiting to get my certificate," she says, "when I found out two different companies that sell to my customers had recently come out with games that had the I.O.U. design in their names." One of those companies opted to dispute Goodman's trademark, leading to years of negotiations.
Finally, however, the two parties have reached an agreement, granting, Goodman the sole claim to the registered trademark.
"It is the responsibility of a manufacturer to research a design or idea to make sure no one already has that design," she says. "One of the struggles of a manufacturer is coming up with a design or idea that is yours and unique and hoping another company won't copy it."
Ball & Chain now offers five different versions of the original card game. I.O.U., Fetish I.O.U., and I.O.U. Hot Sex contain sets of 42 gender-neutral coupons for romantic favors. In addition, Goodman has expanded the line to include a seasonal I.O.U. Christmas coupon book and a bachelorette version which contains 42 different dares. I.O.U. products are carried by Entrenue, Nalpac, and Christie's Sales.
