Wrigley Opposes The Trademark 'WTF'

Wrigley seeks to protect its stale, dry gum from Internet slang....

When you see the acronym “WTF,” do you think about Winterfresh gum?

If you said “no” or “what the hell are you talking about?”, then good for you, because there’s really no connection at all.

If you said “yes,” then Wrigley certainly hopes you judge appeals at the USPTO.

Because last week, Wrigley took its concern to the government in an effort to protect its stale, dry gum from Internet slang….

This whole Wrigley hub(ba)bub(ba) stems from an application filed for “WTF” by rival confection and gum manufacturer Perfetti Van Melle Benelux BV — best known for making Mentos, that mint that mercifully exhausted its advertising budget. Oh, what a sly reference to the lingo the kids are using! Since Perfetti is a family company, its proposed mark doesn’t spell out what you’d think. Instead, they went with “What the Fresh.”

This raised Wrigley’s cackles because “What the Fresh” sounds kind of, sort of, not really like “Winterfresh.” And through their attorney, Douglas N. Masters at Loeb & Loeb, they filed their opposition:

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8. On information and belief, Applicant’s proposed use and registration of “WTF” is in the form of an acronym, and in connection with its intended use of WHAT THE FRESH.

9. To the extent to which consumers and others understand that “WTF” means or represents WHAT THE FRESH, Applicant’s registration of “WTF” for the applied for goods is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception in that consumers are likely to believe applicant’s goods are Opposer’s goods, or the goods of a company that is sponsored, authorized or licensed by, or in some other way legitimately connected with Opposer.

“To the extent” is a critical qualifier, because that extent is limited to “Perfetti employees.”

10. “WTF” also is a common acronym used generally to express indignation, surprise or disbelief.

Oh is it? Wrigley seems to admit a passing recognition that “WTF” might mean something else to the average American, but quickly dismisses this as some sort of obscure alternative to “What the Fresh.” Because obviously everything is all about Wrigley all the time.

Honestly, if you want to see just how much companies buy their own hype, peruse some trademark oppositions. It won’t take long to find some company convinced that everyone in the country is so absolutely obsessed with their “brand” that the most tenuously similar marks amount to egregious assaults on their intellectual property. It doesn’t even have to remotely threaten the company’s business. Like the time when the Omega Psi Phi fraternity applied to register their mark so they could make class rings and luxury watch manufacturer Omega SA ran whining to the USPTO that the market couldn’t figure out that a fraternity uses Greek letters too or something.

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At the end of the day, corporations are people. And, as people go, they just so happen to be humorless tools.

Check out the whole opposition on the next page….