McCoy is a brand

Brand

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...

 of pottery

Pottery

Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...

 that was produced

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in the late 19th

19th century

The 19th century was a period in history marked by the collapse of the Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Holy Roman and Mughal empires...

 and 20th

20th century

Many people define the 20th century as running from January 1, 1901 to December 31, 2000, others would rather define it as beginning on January 1, 1900....

 centuries.

Origins

In April 1910, Nelson McCoy (Senior), with help from his father

Father

A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...

 (J. W. McCoy) and along with five stockholders, established the Nelson McCoy Sanitary and Stoneware

Stoneware

Stoneware is a vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic ware with a fine texture. Stoneware is made from clay that is then fired in a kiln, whether by an artisan to make homeware, or in an industrial kiln for mass-produced or specialty products...

 Company

Company

A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...

 in Roseville, Ohio

Roseville, Ohio

Roseville is a village in Muskingum and Perry counties in the U.S. state of Ohio, along Moxahala Creek. The population was 1,936 at the 2000 census. Roseville is served by a branch of the Muskingum County Library System.-History:...

. The pottery produced utilitarian stoneware and operated successfully until about 1918. They also bought, sold, and mined

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

 clay

Clay

Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...

. At that time the pottery joined with eleven other stoneware potteries and formed the American Clay Products Company (ACPC), which was located in Zanesville, Ohio. All of the member potteries produced stoneware to be marketed by the new company. The ACPC produced sales catalogs of the wares that were produced, which purposely had no trademark, and had salesmen to advertise and take orders. The pottery orders received by the company were shared among the different potteries based on production capability, and the revenue received was proportionally distributed.
The ACPC thrived until January 1926, at which time the company was liquidated. The demise of the company released the former member potteries to once again become independent and they became in direct competition

Competition

Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...

 with one another. Also around this time the demand for utilitarian stoneware was beginning to decrease.

The rise

In order to re-establish its own identity, and also to reflect the changing times, the Nelson McCoy Sanitary and Stoneware Co., by 1929, had changed its name to the Nelson McCoy Sanitary Stoneware Co. Additionally, it was around this time that the company began the practice of marking its wares. No evidence has been found that the company had ever marked any of its wares prior to this time. In 1933, in response to a further decreased demand for food and sanitary wares, and an increased demand for decorative pieces, the name of the pottery was changed again. The pottery became simply, the Nelson McCoy Pottery Co.

The decline

Nelson McCoy, Sr., Nelson Melick, and later Nelson McCoy, Jr., in turn, operated the pottery for 57 years until it was sold in 1967 to the owners of the Mt. Clemens Pottery Co., although Nelson McCoy, Jr., remained as president of the pottery. After about seven years of operation the Lancaster Colony Corporation purchased the pottery in 1974. In 1981 Nelson McCoy, Jr., retired. In 1985, the pottery was sold once again, this time to Designer Accents of New Jersey. Some months earlier, Designer Accents had acquired two other potteries, Holiday Designs of Sebring, Ohio

Sebring, Ohio

Sebring is a village in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,912 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, and their Sebring Studios division. Designer Accents also acquired the Sunstone Pottery of Cambridge, Ohio

Cambridge, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,520 people, 4,924 households, and 2,954 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,055.1 people per square mile . There were 5,585 housing units of an average density of 996.3 per square mile...

.

All production at these potteries was moved to the Nelson McCoy Pottery. The production of some of the wares formerly produced was continued, and other wares were discontinued. The ware formerly produced by Holiday Designs, being lower priced items, was discontinued, while the higher priced wares from Sebring Studios were continued for some time. The ware produced under the name Sebring Studios was marked with only a style number.

Selected items previously made by the McCoy pottery, and some newly designed items, were marketed by Designer Accents under the name Nelson McCoy Ceramics. Some of these items have the familiar McCoy name on them. The Floraline line with its distinctive mark, first produced by the Nelson McCoy Pottery in 1960, was also continued.

Designer Accents operated for about five years until late 1990 when the doors were finally closed. The portion of the pottery containing the offices burned in the fall of 1991

The McCoy trademark

The United States Patent and Trademark Office

United States Patent and Trademark Office

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...

 lists three individuals or companies that have applied for a Trademark

Trademark

A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...

 using the name "McCoy" for use on pottery.

• Designer Accents, Inc., the final owner of the Nelson McCoy Pottery Company, filed the first of these applications on June 7, 1989. In the fall of 1990, the pottery closed. The application was canceled on December 20, 1997.

• On August 31, 1992, Roger Jensen from Rockwood, Tennessee
  Rockwood, Tennessee
  Rockwood is a city in Roane County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 5,774 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Harriman, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
  
  , applied for use of the name "McCoy" as a trademark on pottery he made. The application stated that the first use of the proposed trademark was in January 1991. Jensen's pottery pieces were objectionable to collectors of authentic McCoy pottery, because they were sometimes mistaken for 'The Real McCoy'. Jensen's application was canceled on May 25, 1999.

• A year before the Jensen application was canceled, Designer Accents, Inc. reapplied. This was on August 19, 1998. This application was abandoned on July 31, 2000.

• On October 28, 1999, Rosella Martin of Century, Florida
  Century, Florida
  Century is a town in Escambia County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,714 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Century is located at ....
  
  , made application to use the name "McCoy" on numerous types of pottery she produced. On May 24, 2001, this application was abandoned.

According to the records of the US Patent and Trademark Office

Patent and Trademark Office

The Patent and Trademark Office may refer to:* the United States Patent and Trademark Office * the German Patent and Trademark Office...

there is no active trademark application requesting permission to use the name "McCoy" on pottery.

Chronology

• 1848 - Small Factory opened by W. N. McCoy
• 1886 - J.W. McCoy opened Williams & (JW) McCoy Pottery Co.
• 1890 - Merged & Renamed Kildow, Williams & McCoy Pottery Co.
• 1892 - Renamed Midland Pottery Co.
• 1898 - Sold to Roseville Pottery Co.
• 1910 - J.W. McCoy assisted his son, Nelson, in establishing "Nelson McCoy Sanitary Stoneware"
• 1911 - J.W. McCoy Pottery Company acquired by George Brush and it became "Brush-McCoy Pottery Co."
• 1918 - McCoy family sold interest in Brush-McCoy but name did not change until 1925
• 1933 - Nelson McCoy Sanitary Stoneware simplified name to Nelson McCoy Pottery Co.
• 1967 - Sold to Mount Clemens Pottery Co.
• 1974 - Sold to Lancaster Colony
• 1981 - Nelson McCoy, Jr. stopped working at Nelson McCoy Pottery Co.
• 1982 - Brush-McCoy ceased operation
• 1985 - Nelson McCoy Pottery Co. sold to Designer Accents & merged with their company, renamed "Nelson McCoy Ceramics"
• 1989 - Designer Accent Applies for use of Trademark McCoy on Pottery
• 1990 - Nelson McCoy Ceramics ceased operation
• 1991 - Roger Jensen begins using McCoy trademark on pottery he produced in Tennessee
• 1992 - Roger Jensen applies for use of McCoy trademark on Pottery, amidst controversy
• 1997 - Designer Accents' 1989 Trademark Application cancelled
• 1998 - Designer Accent Applies a second time for use of Trademark McCoy on Pottery
• 1999 - Roger Jensen's 1992 Trademark application was cancelled
• 1999 - Rosella Martin applies to use the McCoy Trademark on pottery produced in Florida
• 2000 - Designer Accents abandoned second McCoy Trademark Application
• 2001 - Rosella Martin abandoned McCoy Trademark Application