Trademark & Intellectual Property Notice

THE EMPATHY SET® is a federally registered trademark of John Ford in the United States.

Physical Products (Class 16 — Principal Register)

THE EMPATHY SET® is registered on the USPTO Principal Register for printed flash cards for enhancing emotional intelligence, communication, and relationships (International Class 16).
This registration reflects continuous use in commerce since 2017 and provides robust federal trademark protection for the physical card-based tools.

Digital Products & Software (Class 9 — Supplemental Register)

THE EMPATHY SET® is also federally registered for downloadable software and mobile applications designed to enhance emotional intelligence, communication, and relationships (International Class 9).

This registration appears on the USPTO Supplemental Register and covers The Empathy Set® App, providing nationwide notice of ownership and strengthening protection against confusingly similar uses in the software and digital services space.

About The Empathy Set® App

The Empathy Set® App is the official digital application created by John Ford to extend the original Empathy Set® tools into a mobile and online format.

The app:

  • Is covered by a federal trademark registration in International Class 9

  • Supports emotional literacy, reflection, and communication skills

  • Complements — but does not replace — the physical Empathy Set® card decks

Relationship Between Physical and Digital Offerings

The Empathy Set® ecosystem includes distinct but related products, each protected under U.S. trademark law:

  • The Empathy Set® (Class 16) — printed flash cards (Principal Register)

  • The Empathy Set® App (Class 9) — downloadable software and mobile application (Supplemental Register)

Both are part of a unified educational system created by John Ford, while remaining legally distinct in form and classification.