Five Dollar Footlong Trademark Dispute

Subway’s specimen when registering “Five Dollar Footlong”

Does anyone remember Subway's massive "FOOTLONG" advertising campaigns? In the height of the $5 footlong craze, Subway even tried to trademark the word "Footlong" itself, for "sandwiches not including hot dogs."

But Subway extended too far, because Casey's was also interested in selling sandwiches, which happened to be 12 inches long. After a legal battle, Casey's was victorious for a simple reason:

"Footlong" is generic.

Generic refusals by the USPTO are issued when a word is a common descriptor for the goods or services the company attempts to protect. In this case, calling a 12 inch sandwich a "Footlong" was a common way to describe sandwiches. So Subway's bid to control the word "Footlong" was kicked to the curb.

News Article for more:
https://lnkd.in/g6jYjheQ

Straight from USPTO: https://lnkd.in/gnsg-Trv