Aunt Jemima heirs seek billions from Pepsi and Quaker Oats
The heirs of a woman whose image was used on the ‘Aunt Jemima’ brand of pancakes have filed a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against The Quaker Oats Company and the maker of soft drink Pepsi.
D.W Hunter—the great grandson of Anna Short Harrington, whose image was used on the pancakes’ packaging—is seeking $2 billion, plus further damages to be determined at trial.
Hunter claims that Quaker Oats, the owner of brands including Aunt Jemima, refused to pay a share of royalties to Harrington and had “exploited” her image and recipe for profit for more than 60 years.
Harrington took on the role of portraying the Aunt Jemima character in 1935 and was allegedly selected because of her own pancake recipe, which Quaker Oats then reproduced for the mass market.
In 1937, the company first registered the trademark for the brand and Harrington’s likeness but the family did not discover the registration until last year.
The lawsuit further alleges that Harrington was dissuaded from using a lawyer so that the company would not pay her a percentage of sales from her recipes and image.
According to the complaint, the company, which is now owned by Pepsi manufacturer PepsiCo and also makes pancake syrup, refused to acknowledge Harrington was in fact an employee.
The complaint claimed, however, that Quaker Oats allegedly received a certified death certificate for Harrington listing her as a former employee.
Hunter also said the companies lied by claiming they could find no images of her despite having her image registered at the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Harrington died in 1955 but Quaker Oats then sought out her youngest daughter Olivia Hunter in 1989, ultimately using her likeness to update the appearance of ‘Aunt Jemima’, the complaint said.
It is that image that is now used on Aunt Jemima-branded products.
US-based Pinnacle Foods Group and The Hillshire Brands Company, which sell Aunt Jemima products under license, are also targeted in the lawsuit.
PepsiCo did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
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