‘Jaws’ trademark fails to taste victory at TTAB

An online cooking channel has had its application for the trademark ‘Jaws’ rejected because people may confuse it with the film star shark of the same name.

In a decision handed down by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the term ‘Jaws’ was deemed sufficiently well-known that accepting applications for the same term would be confusing.

The applicant, referred to by the TTAB as “Mr Recipe”, applied for the word marks ‘Jaws’ and ‘Jaws Devour Your Hunger’ in 2013. They were planned to be used in connection with a “streaming audio-visual channel” in relation to cooking.

Both marks were initially rejected by a USPTO examiner.

In the rejection, USPTO examiner Sara Benjamin said the 1975 film “Jaws”, directed by Steven Spielberg, was a blockbuster film and that the existing word mark ‘Jaws’ should enjoy a broad scope of use as a result.

Mr Recipe appealed against the ruling but in its decision, handed down on March 18, the TTAB agreed with the USPTO’s initial decision.

“The trademark examining attorney did submit evidence demonstrating that registrant’s movie ‘Jaws’ is so well-known a movie that it set the standard for summer blockbusters,” the TTAB said.

It added that the two applied-for marks, when compared side-by-side with the existing trademark for the term ‘Jaws’, showed distinct similarities.

“Applicant’s mark ‘Jaws’ is identical to the ‘Jaws’ mark in the cited registration. Applicant’s mark ‘Jaws Devour Your Hunger’ is similar to registrant’s mark because they share the word ‘Jaws’. The word ‘Jaws’ is the dominant element of applicant’s mark,” the TTAB wrote.