Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> Legal Blog Watch

Legal News

: Legal Blog Watch

Subway Says Other 'Footlong' Sandwich Sellers Violating Its Trademark

By Bruce Carton

"You are hereby put on notice to cease and desist from using FOOTLONG (TM) association with sandwiches. You must immediately remove all references to FOOTLONG (TM) in association with sandwiches." If you sell sandwiches that happen to be, oh, 12 inches long, and you dare to refer to said sandwiches as being a "footlong," then Subway would like to have a word with you. NPR reports that last week, shops calling their sandwiches "footlongs" began receiving this cease and desist letter (key language highlighted above) from Subway demanding a halt to this alleged misconduct and explaining that Subway "has applied for the trademark FOOTLONG (TM) in association with sandwiches." One of the C&D letters was sent to The Coney Island Drive Inn in Brooksville, Florida, which has been selling 12-inch hot dogs that it dares to calls "footlongs" for more than 40 years. Subway says that letter was sent in error as it is only trying to trademark the term for sandwiches, not hot dogs. Subway's trademark applications for "footlong" are now being considered by the Patent and Trademark Office. Brett Trout of Blawg IT finds Subway's arguments unpersuasive, and writes that "federal trademark law prohibits federal trademark registrations on...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on May 17, 2010 (boomark / email).