The End of "Families First"

Yesterday, SDDC announced the end of Families First. To be more clear, they announced the end of the use of the term “Families First”, due to trademark infringement. Here is a quote from that message:

Due to a trademark infringement issue with the use of the name, “Families First” I am notifying you that we will no longer refer to the DOD’s new household goods program as Families First. The new program that the Defense Personal Property System (DPS) supports will now be called the Defense Personal Property Program, or DP3.

The email offered no more details on the trademark holder, but after a little digging around on the US Patent and Trademark Office website, I believe this is likely the company that holds the trademark: Picerne Military Housing. They filed for the trademark of “Families First” in 2002, and if you view their website, they certainly make use of the phrase in most of their marketing. The fact that their business is a field related to military relocation probably made the infringement a larger issue.

By the way, there is a company that owns the trademark rights to “DP3″, but they are an architectural firm, so hopefully that will not cause any problems.

Related Posts

1. "Families First" References - December 22nd, 2008
2. It's Official: Families First Postponed - October 30th, 2006
3. CWA/Families First – TSP Notification - July 18th, 2006