What Will Become of The Mr. Potato Head Trademark?
Last week, Hasbro, Inc., maker of the iconic Mr. Potato Head toy, announced that Mr. Potato Head would no longer be a “Mr.” and would henceforth be a more gender-inclusive “Potato Head,” dropping the “mister” from the name. Apparently they have decided to abandon the MR. POTATO HEAD trademark, and use the trademark POTATO HEAD instead.
This will require them to file a new trademark application for POTATO HEAD, unless they can convince the trademark office that the change to POTATO HEAD from MR. POTATO HEAD will be non-substantial. I think that attempt will fail, in part because the product has been known as “Mr. Potato Head” for almost 70 years. So Hasbro, Inc. will likely be required to file a new trademark application for their new POTATO HEAD brand for toys.
I decided to look at the MR. POTATO HEAD trademarks, out of curiosity. Hasbro, Inc. has registered a number of MR. POTATO HEAD trademarks over the years, and all but one of them have been abandoned. Most of them registered, and then were later abandoned, apparently for nonuse. If you cease to use your trademark, and don’t renew it, it will eventually become abandoned, and will be cancelled for non-renewal.
It looks like during the early 2000s, Hasbro attempted to expand the MR. POTATO HEAD trademark and brand by adding Mr. Potato Head merchandise to their toy offering. They began to offer — and got trademark registrations for — various merchandise that would appeal to children and parents, such as pajamas, underwear, and slippers. This must not have been successful, because all of these trademarks were later abandoned, and cancelled by the trademark office for non-renewal of the trademark registrations.
One of the requirements to maintain a trademark registration is that the trademark owner use the trademark in commerce. This means that they are offering and selling goods and services, and using the mark in conjunction with the offer for sale of the goods and/or services. If you stop using the trademark, then your trademark rights expire.
The are exceptions for “excusable nonuse.” This might be a situation where the trademark owner can’t get the necessary materials or equipment to continue manufacturing a certain product. In that case, the nonuse is because of some extenuating circumstance, and not because the owner has abandoned the trademark.
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