{"id":471,"date":"2021-08-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/norrismclaughlin.com\/mtym\/2021\/08\/27\/ben-jerrys-opposes-marijuana-companys-pending-applications-half-baked-trademark\/"},"modified":"2021-08-27T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T00:00:00","slug":"ben-jerrys-opposes-marijuana-companys-pending-applications-half-baked-trademark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/norrismclaughlin.com\/mtym\/trademarks\/ben-jerrys-opposes-marijuana-companys-pending-applications-half-baked-trademark\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben & Jerry\u2019s Opposes Marijuana Company\u2019s Pending Applications for HALF-BAKED Trademark"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last month, Ben & Jerry<\/a>\u2019s filed a notice of opposition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (\u201cTTAB\u201d)<\/a> against two applications seeking to register the trademark HALF-BAKED for bakery items that include cookies, brownies, and cakes, among other treats, as well as dessert beverages infused with coffee and chocolate. The owner of the pending applications is a marijuana company MJ Munchies, Inc. (\u201cMJ\u201d), which filed the challenged applications on an intent-to-use basis, meaning goods bearing the applied-for HALF-BAKED trademarks are not yet available on the market.<\/p>\n

Ben & Jerry\u2019s cites its ~20-year-old registrations for HALF BAKED, which cover ice cream, frozen yogurt, and frozen yogurt confections. Ben & Jerry\u2019s objects to the marijuana company\u2019s applications on several grounds, including that allowing the applications to mature to registration would bring Ben & Jerry\u2019s into \u201ccontempt, or disrepute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Likelihood of Confusion with Ben & Jerry\u2019s Famous Half Baked Flavor<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ben & Jerry\u2019s draws the TTAB\u2019s attention to the fact that MJ\u2019s proposed mark HALF-BAKED is essentially identical to the HALF BAKED mark covered by its existing registrations. Moreover, Ben & Jerry\u2019s takes issue with the fact that bakery and dessert items, such as cookies, cakes, and chocolate beverages, are highly related to its Half Baked-flavored ice cream products.<\/p>\n

As a result, Ben & Jerry\u2019s alleges that MJ\u2019s planned use of HALF-BAKED will cause confusion in the marketplace, namely, that such use will deceive and mislead the purchasing public into believing that Ben & Jerry\u2019s is the source of MJ\u2019s dessert products.\u00a0 There is a classic likelihood of confusion argument in opposition to the new marks.<\/p>\n

Dilution by Blurring<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ben & Jerry\u2019s also argues that allowing registration of MJ\u2019s HALF-BAKED applications will cause dilution by blurring and harm the reputation of its famed Half-Baked ice cream flavor. Dilution by blurring occurs when a famous mark becomes identified with other unrelated goods.<\/p>\n

In this instance, even if MJ plans to use HALF-BAKED in relation to dessert items that are not infused with cannabis, Ben & Jerry\u2019s claims it will nevertheless be harmed by the confusingly similar mark\u2019s association with confectionary other than ice cream. That is, MJ\u2019s use of HALF-BAKED on dessert products that are unaffiliated with Ben & Jerry\u2019s will lessen the uniqueness of its own Half Baked-flavored ice cream in a way that \u201cblurs\u201d the mark from association with only Ben & Jerry\u2019s dessert products to those products offered by MJ. Again, this is a standard argument against the registration of a new mark similar to an already-registered mark.<\/p>\n

Tarnishment, Disparagement, and \u201cDisrepute\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The somewhat unusual arguments in the Notice of Opposition are that registration of the HALF-BAKED marks could dilute Ben & Jerry\u2019s existing marks by tarnishment, \u201cdisparage\u201d them, or bring them into \u201cdisrepute,\u201d without stating what about the pending applications are tarnishing, disparaging, or disreputable.\u00a0 Although the identification of goods covered by the challenged applications includes the limitation, \u201cnone of the aforementioned goods containing cannabis or cannabis extracts,\u201d a November 2018 press release<\/a> describes MJ as the \u201cowner of HalfBaked.com and the Half-Baked brand of marijuana infused edibles and drinks.\u201d While Ben & Jerry\u2019s does not explicitly allege that the association with marijuana is tarnishing or may \u201cdisparage\u201d Ben & Jerry\u2019s marks or bring them into \u201cdisrepute,\u201d it appears that at least some of their objection to the registration of these new HALF-BAKED marks is that they might cause consumers to associate Ben & Jerry\u2019s HALF BAKED products with marijuana.<\/p>\n

Marijuana Legalization<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While the stigma associated with marijuana has waned in recent years, with 18 states having legalized recreational use (including the District of Columbia) and 36 states approving medical use, it still remains illegal for recreational use in a majority of states and under Federal law and retains disreputable connotations in much of society and with many consumers.\u00a0 However, in contrast to these objections, Ben & Jerry\u2019s, in a May 2019 statement<\/a>, publicized its plans to offer cannabis-infused ice cream that contains cannabidiol (\u201cCBD\u201d), an active ingredient in marijuana.\u00a0 Like many companies, Ben & Jerry\u2019s is finding itself balancing the opportunities of legalization with the aggressive branding of some new marijuana and cannabis companies.<\/p>\n

As cannabis apparently moves inexorably towards legalization, both state-by-state and at the Federal level, businesses need to assess the potential opportunities in the new market, still-existing restrictions (such as the continuing bar to registration of trademarks for products containing THC or CBD), and potential infringements by companies in this new space.<\/p>\n

For further guidance on copyright issues or disputes, or any related\u00a0intellectual property<\/a>\u00a0matters, please don\u2019t hesitate to contact me at\u00a0dsiegel@norris-law.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last month, Ben & Jerry\u2019s filed a notice of opposition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (\u201cTTAB\u201d) against two applications seeking to register the trademark HALF-BAKED for bakery items that include cookies, brownies, and cakes, among other treats, as well as dessert beverages infused with coffee and chocolate. The owner of the pending applications […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,46,299],"tags":[437,392],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBen & Jerry\u2019s Opposes Marijuana Company\u2019s Pending Applications for HALF-BAKED Trademark - More Than Your Mark\u00ae<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/norrismclaughlin.com\/mtym\/trademarks\/ben-jerrys-opposes-marijuana-companys-pending-applications-half-baked-trademark\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ben & Jerry\u2019s Opposes Marijuana Company\u2019s Pending Applications for HALF-BAKED Trademark\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last month, Ben & Jerry\u2019s filed a notice of opposition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (\u201cTTAB\u201d) against two applications seeking to register the trademark HALF-BAKED for bakery items that include cookies, brownies, and cakes, among other treats, as well as dessert beverages infused with coffee and chocolate. 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