Terps USA & University of Maryland TERPS Trademark Dispute
WHY SETTLE FOR SOMEONE ELSE TELLING YOU WHO YOU ARE?
We Got a Demand - We Sent an Invitation
Because it's our name.
We Got a Demand
We Sent an Invitation
On July 24, 2026, the University of Maryland sent Terps USA LLC a cease-and-desist letter.
They didn't ask us to have a conversation.
They demanded that we stop using Terps USA.
They demanded that we voluntarily surrender our federal registration.
They asked for written assurance that we would comply - and a copy of the surrender filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
We said no.
Not because we wanted a fight.
Because it's our name.
Terps USA Wasn't Built in Maryland
It Was Built in the Terpene Industry
Terps USA was founded in Colorado in 2019.
We sell terpenes .
And in our industry, people call terpenes terps.
That's where our name came from.
Terps - because that's what we sell.
USA - because we believed then, and still believe now, that the American Dream is alive and well.
We built a company around that name. Customers know it. Suppliers know it. Distributors know it. Our products carry it.
And the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued Terps USA federal Registration No. 6578151.
Because it's our name.
The
Timeline
The University of Maryland applied federally to register TERPS, claiming first use dating to 1933.
That application was abandoned after final refusal.
Terps USA filed its federal application for TERPS USA, claiming first use in commerce in May 2019.
The USPTO issued Terps USA Registration No. 6578151 on the Supplemental Register.
A University of Maryland alumnus and benefactor emailed Terps USA accusing the company of stealing Maryland's name and trademarked image. The email ended: "Legal action to follow." We preserved the email.
The University of Maryland filed another federal TERPS application.
The University's Office of General Counsel sent its cease-and-desist letter.
Terps USA retained attorney Milo Schwab of Ascend Counsel. Our answer was straightforward: We will not stop using Terps USA. We will not voluntarily surrender our federal registration. But our response did something the original demand did not.
It invited a conversation.
A Demand
And an Invitation
Our attorney's response ended by telling the University that we would welcome a call before either side took another step.
That's where we stand.
We got a demand - not an invitation.
We replied to the demand - and included an invitation.
Our name isn't something we're prepared to surrender. A conversation is something we're prepared to have.
Why
"Terps" Matters
There's another part of this story that extends far beyond Terps USA.
In the cannabis and botanical terpene industry, "terps" is ordinary shorthand for terpenes.
Terps USA isn't the only company using it. The marketplace includes businesses and brands using TERP or TERPS in names, products and descriptions.
Our attorney's response also identifies multiple USPTO registrations and applications containing TERP or TERPS and argues that the Trademark Office has repeatedly treated the term as descriptive within the terpene trade.
To Maryland, "Terps" means Terrapins.
To our industry, "terps" means terpenes.
And Terps USA sells terpenes.
The Cannabis
Question
The University's letter went beyond trademarks.
It specifically expressed concern that consumers might believe Maryland had licensed, sponsored or endorsed cannabis-related products or services and stated that such an association would impair the goodwill in its TERPS marks.
That language caught people's attention.
Maryland is a state where adult-use cannabis is legal, and the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy operates a graduate program devoted to Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics.
Our attorney addressed that issue in the response.
But our position is simpler.
Terps USA isn't pretending to be the University of Maryland.
We're a Colorado terpene company. They're a university.
Then People Started
Writing About It
What began as a three-page cease-and-desist letter didn't stay between two parties for very long.
Cannabis journalists noticed. Maryland sports media noticed. Legal publications noticed. International cannabis media noticed. And eventually, people started making jokes about it.
University of Maryland Sends Cease-and-Desist to Terpenes Brand Over 'TERPS' and Branding Style
Ganjapreneur broke the story, reporting on Maryland's allegations, Terps USA's response and the University's cannabis-specific concern.
Why are the University of Maryland's lawyers going after a cannabis company?
This moved the story outside cannabis media and directly into the Maryland/Terrapins sports community.
University of Maryland Sends Cease-and-Desist to Terpenes Brand Over 'TERPS' Name and Branding Style
Cannabis Law Report republished the Ganjapreneur reporting, putting the dispute before a cannabis-law audience.
UMD Let Its Own "Terps" Trademark Lapse for Nearly Three Years. Now It Wants a Cannabis Company to Stop Using the Name.
Phillips focused on Maryland's federal trademark history and the period during which it lacked a federal registration for TERPS standing alone.
UMD Let Its Own "Terps" Trademark Lapse for Nearly Three Years. Now It Wants a Cannabis Company to Stop Using the Name.
The client supplied this direct article link along with graphics illustrating the competing meanings of "Terps" and the trademark timeline.
Terpenos e Marcas: O Caso 'TERPS' da Universidade de Maryland
The story crossed borders when Brazilian cannabis publication Ganja Talks examined the dispute as a cannabis branding and intellectual-property issue.
University of Maryland Claims Ownership of "Terps," Apple Expected to Sue Orchards Next
Boof du Jour turned the dispute into satire.
Not those Terps: UMD threatens legal action against cannabis product company over name
The University of Maryland, College Park, sent Terps USA a cease-and-desist letter this summer demanding Fry abandon the logo design, rename his company and give up his trademark, which was approved in 2021.
Why
Settle?
Terps USA didn't start this dispute.
We received a demand.
We answered it.
And we left the door open for a conversation.
We're not asking anyone to accept our interpretation of the law simply because we say so.
Read the reporting. Read the records. Read our history. Read our research. Then make up your own mind.
We've spent years telling customers not to settle for mediocre flower, mediocre carts, bad information or industry myths.
That standard applies to us too.
We won't settle for someone else deciding who we are.
Because it's our name.
TERPS USA® - Founded 2019 - Colorado
Read the records. Read the history. Make up your own mind.
