J.M. Smucker Co. is asking for its day in court over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
The company that makes Uncrustables says that a PB&J sandwich sold by Trader Joe’s is too similar to Smucker’s design and packaging, The Associated Press reported. The Trader Joe’s PB&J violates Smucker’s trademarks, the jelly company contends.
Smucker says the Trader Joe’s version is also in a blue box with the same lettering used on Uncrustables. The package also shows a sandwich with a bite taken out of it.
Other companies have a similar product to the Uncrustable, but this one is a bit too close, according to Smucker.
“Smucker does not take issue with others in the marketplace selling prepackaged, frozen, thaw-and-eat crustless sandwiches. But it cannot allow others to use Smucker’s valuable intellectual property to make such sales,” the lawsuit, which was filed in Ohio, said.
Smucker has “been using a pie-like shape with distinct peripheral undulated crimping to identify sandwich products” since at least 1996, it said in the lawsuit. The design of the sandwich is trademarked the company said and has not been licensed to Trader Joe’s.
The jelly company is asking for restitution and is asking the court to order Trader Joe’s to hand over all of the PB&J sandwiches to Smucker for destruction, the AP reported.
The New York Times pointed out that while technically you cannot trademark a sandwich, you can trademark the shape or configuration, as in this case, Smucker points to the pie-like shape and distinct peripheral undulated crimping.
The Washington Post compared the two and found that the Trader Joe’s version was more squared-off if you look closely, and it is only crimped on one side.
This is not the first time Smucker has tried to protect the Uncrustables. It sent Gallant Tiger a cease and desist letter over its crustless versions of the PB&J that also had crimped edges. Smucker said it still monitors that Minnesota company, but hasn’t taken them to court, the AP reported.
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