The trademark was invented by Piret Järvis and the first producer of the band, Sven Lõhmus, in 2002. In September 2007, the rights to the trademark were transferred to a company called Oulson Outsourcing OU. In November last year, the trademark was put up for sale on eBay for $44,500, but without success. 14 days ago, the trademark was offered for sale for a more modest EUR 3,000 through an Estonian auction site. 103 bids and 14 days later, the highest bid was EUR 4,400. Meanwhile, more than 15,000 individuals followed the bid process.
The person who bought the trademark of Vanilla Ninja can use the name on products within Estonia. Earlier, Vanilla Ninja icecream, pencils, notebooks and other products were sold on the market. It is unknown if the proud owner is planning to actually use the trademark for these purposes.
Although Vanilla Ninja is still popular in its home country, the individual members are currently more successful than the group itself. Lenna Kuurmaa is having a successful solo carreer and presents a popular radio show, Piret Järvis is VJ at MTV Eesti. Nevertheless, they can and will continue using the name Vanilla Ninja for their musical activities.
