Halloween Trademarks of 2021
It has been a few years since we’ve looked at Halloween trademarks, so it seems like time for a revisit!
First off, we bring you critical news — THE OFFICIAL GARLIC OF HALLOWEEN has finally been determined after three years of effort. It is a bit underwhelming, we admit, but being the official vegetable produce of a candy-oriented holiday is perhaps an uphill battle when it comes to excitement. Still, at least we know exactly which product we need to stave off the vampires.
Next, we have the ongoing struggle to figure out where exactly the Halloween capital of the world is. You may recall that Orlando holds the registration for HALLOWEEN VACATION CAPITAL — but this year Anoka, Minnesota continued its claim to be THE HALLOWEEN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD (reaching back to 1920). Surprisingly, after making it through examination without much of an issue, Anoka abandoned the application. Perhaps, in the drive to be as authentic as possible, they wanted its status to be DEAD? Mission accomplished. Anoka and Orlando were joined this year by a Denver applicant filing for the HALLOWEEN IN JULY trademark with the remarkably limited claim “Halloween In July is an annual event in Denver for Entertainment purposes.” Given the COVID delays, we’ll be waiting until next Halloween for a status update.
Looking for a haunted house of IP issues? The ROCKTOBERFEST application is for a Halloween carnival and film festival, but is it the same as the Rocktoberfest tribute music festival? (And if you love IP issues, tribute bands are a great place to look.)
Luckily, whether you want a festival, a concert, or just a local experience this October, there is a new application (and application) for HALLOWEEN MAPS covering a “Software application, namely, an application that will provide users with a guide and a map to the nearest Halloween adventures and events and a social media plug in.” Apparently the app is live, so maybe they should amend this trademark application from intent-to-use to in-use . . .
Finally, we can’t close out without a quick look at the controversial world of pumpkin beers. Shipyard has had their PUMPKINHEAD design mark in beer for years now (as well as PUMPKINHEAD for baked goods, flavoring, mustards, sauces, etc.), but they are tightening up the ship (getting their marks in ship shape?) by applying for the PUMPKINHEAD word mark alone in beer. My theory? This helps them with some pesky state-specific labeling requirements related to use of the word ALE.
Meanwhile, Eckert’s applied for the SUMPIN’ PUMPKIN mark for beer, but I have to wonder if Lagunitas will have sumpin’ to say about that. Fortunately, Eckert’s has a plan, applying also for the HAULIN’ JACK PUMPKIN ALE mark.
These folks may love their pumpkin beers, but PUMPKIN PIE LUST takes it to an entirely new level. New Glarus Brewing up in Wisconsin is ready for the Halloween season with this one — perhaps a little too ready?