The peanut butter and jelly sandwich is one of the simple joys of life that millions of people indulge in on a daily basis. They’re a staple of lunch boxes for kids and adults across the country and are incredibly easy to make even for the most inept of chefs. But Smucker’s was able to make things even easier when they rolled out the frozen Uncrustables PB&J sandwich that you can just thaw and eat. Bur Smucker’s feels their product is being infringed on, and now they’re hoping for a different kind of PB&J; Peanut Butter & Justice.
Consumers are used to seeing variations of products in certain stores, with larger retailers having their own version of various goods. Walmart is a prime example of this with their Sam’s Choice line of everything from soda to toaster pastries. Trader Joe’s has their own line as well with their “Crustless Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam Sandwiches” being their take on Smucker’s Uncrustables.
Smucker’s has filed a lawsuit claiming Trader Joe’s take is too similar to their iconic snack.
The suit focuses on two major elements; how the sandwiches are made and marketed. Regarding the sandwiches themselves, Smucker’s points out how the Trader Joe’s version has crimped edges along the sides, identical to the kind on their own. This allegedly violates a trademark that Smucker’s has on that kind of design for this product. The bigger question around that is whether or not the crimping is actually something that can be trademarked or if it’s part of a manufacturing process that no one really has a right to.
The other aspect of the complaint falls to the box that the product comes in. This one seems like a bit more of a stretch so brace yourself as you follow along with this part. So, the Smucker’s brand Uncrustables box has blue lettering on it for the name, “Uncrustables.” It’s kind of a sky-blue like the one Skype used to use. The Trader Joe’s brand of sandwiches uses a sky-blue color for their entire box, which, combined with the fact that both boxes have pictures of a sandwich with a bite mark in them, is a violation of their trademark.
Now, we’re not lawyers, but there is a pretty big difference between the two boxes: it’s going to be hard to confuse the two in that regard. One has “UNCRUSTABLES” plastered on the front of it, the other has the word “crustless” in a smaller font than the words “PEANUT BUTTER.” If Smucker’s does have a viable trademark on the crimped edges of these sandwiches, that seems a lot more likely to prevail. Regardless, it still shows that we live in a society where companies have enough wealth to battle each other over the design of crustless sandwiches. And as always, the lawyers ultimately are the ones who win. We’ll let you know who winds up prevailing in this legal jam as the case unfolds.
