Upholding the rejection of its trademark application, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a confectioner cannot block its competitors from making candy in the shape and colors of a watermelon.
PIM Brands, a candymaker, introduced a product called Sour Jack Wedges, a watermelon-flavored, green, white and red candy two decades ago. After 10 years, PIM attempted to trademark “the shape of a wedge for candy,” according to the opinion. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected that application and required the company to add colors. PIM did so and registered a trademark in “the shape of a wedge for candy, with an upper green section with white speckles, followed by a narrow middle white section and followed by a lower red section with white speckles.”
