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Spam Lawsuit's Last Laugh is at Hormel's Expense

Posted by Zonk on from the junk-email-junk-email-eggs-and-junk-email dept.

Brian Cartmell writes "An article at the Minneapolis — StarTribune site covers a significant setback for the Hormel food company, in a case that's being closely watched by security companies across the country. Seattle-based Spam Arrest has gone up against the creator of the food substance in court, fighting for the right to use the word spam in its company name. The US Trademark Trial and Appeal board has sided with the spam fighters, agreeing that consumers of the Spam product would never confuse the food with junk email. 'Derek Newman, Spam Arrest's attorney, said the decision opens the door for many other anti-spam software companies ... "Spam Arrest fought this battle for the whole software industry," Newman said.'"

5 of 172 comments (clear)

  1. At whose expense? by chuck · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think the point of the ruling is that it's NOT at Hormel's expense, since no one confuses junk mail with canned meat.

    Plus, I don't know if it should really be considered a victory for the software industry that companies don't have to come up with creative names.

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    My Freakin Blog
    1. Re:At whose expense? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Creativity isn't really the issue, it's trademarking of words that are commonly used.

      SPAM was a potted meat UNTIL it became part of the neolexicon... and hormel wanted to
      cash in on the name despite (or because of) the declining popularity of the meat(ish) product.

      If Hormel had actively tried to market its meat product USING the new definition of the word,
      perhaps in a clever TV or print campaign, they might actually capitalize.

      Instead, meh... They try to push the legal envelope and get a paper cut. Potted meatheads.

  2. About that Icon... by ackthpt · · Score: 4, Insightful

    consumers of the Spam product would never confuse the food with junk email.

    And yet Slashdot still has a spam (note lowercase 's') icon which looks like a piggy with a brick of presumably Spam as part of its body, where formerly the icon was indeed a can of Spam.

    Well played Slasdot!

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    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  3. Food? by Akaihiryuu · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Since when is Spam considered food? Sorry, couldn't resist.

  4. Sorry for Hormel by IPFreely · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Well, you kind of have to feel sorry for Hormel a little.

    They had some product out there with a bizzare name. Then the Monty Python skit comes along and satirizes it. That's not so bad really.

    But that leads to other people using the name for a different meaning, a meaning garnered from the Monty Python skit rather than the original product. Then the new meaning drowns out their original poduct and takes their name away. Now that hurts.

    They didn't cause any of this, and for the most part it was not an intentional attack on them either. They really did not have much recourse at each step because the satire and redefinition were legitimate legal uses. It's all just a sad twist of fate.

    Aw well. They can always do what all the SPAMmers do: rename their product and sell it to someone else who does not know any better.

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