Exxon was sued at one point by Kellogg's, the cereal company, for trademark infringement. The mark at issue was Exxon's tiger vs. Tony the Tiger ("...the taste of Tony's Frosted Flakes...").
I really enjoyed the way Exxon's artist described the evolution of the tiger following the Exxon Valdez oil spill:
"Today's tiger is now cast in a more humanitarian role. He is polite to the elderly,* plants trees for ecology and has an overall concern for the environment."
Even better, however, is the asterisked footnote from the editors:
*"It is unclear if Exxon's tiger was rude to the elderly prior to this time --Eds."
Kellogg Co. v. Exxon Corp., 209 F.3d 562 (6th Cir. 2000).
2 comments:
I wonder if giving fictional trademarks a backstory or character trait has some kind of legal weight. The new Vancouver 2010 Olympic Mascots (3 of them) were just unveiled, and they all come with a history. The Sasquatch wants to be an NHL goalie.
I'd like to know what the hell's the deal with Bib.
If that was Exxon vs. Kashi, I would say Awesome.
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