AUSTIN, MN — It’s official: The word “spam” can be used for unsolicited email. A federal appeals board has ruled against Hormel Foods Corp’s argument that the use of the term damages Hormel’s trademark on the canned pork product it introduced in 1937.Hormel sued Seattle, WA-based Spam Arrest, a maker of email blocking and verifying software, claiming the use of the common word “Spam” in the company’s name and that of its flagship product could be confusing to consumers or might imply that Hormel endorsed the software. The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board disagreed.
According to company literature, the meat product’s name is a contraction of “spiced ham,” referring to the materials used to make Spam. The word’s latter-day usage generally is though to refer indirectly to the classic Monty Python sketch that stands as a monument to unnecessary and irritating repetition.
“Although we understand and accept that the term ‘spam’ has taken on new meaning in recent years, it is important to remember that we created the Spam brand more than 70 years ago and have invested significantly to build, support and protect the brand,” Hormel spokeswoman Julie Craven told the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, Star Tribune. She also said the company had no further comment about the board’s ruling but might appeal it.
Hormel has been vigorous in prosecuting other companies that have attempted to use the uppercase version of the word Spam. Among the companies it has sued over software trademarks are Google’s Postini unit over “Postini Anti-Spam Engine,” Arlington Web Services over “My Spam Gone,” NCsoft Corp. over “SPJAM,” Spamout LLC over “Spamout,” Lavasoft AB over “Spamware,” MicroWorld Technologies Inc. over “X-Spam” and EarthLink Inc. over “Spam Sentry.”
However, the company does not seem to object to the lowercase term’s use or to the use of the uppercase form when it undeniably refers to Hormel’s canned meat. The company has sponsored the acclaimed Monty Python musical Spamalot and shows Monty Python videos at its Spam Museum at corporate headquarters in Austin, MN.
“Spam Arrest fought this battle for the whole software industry,” Derek Newman, Spam Arrest’s attorney, told the Star Tribune. “The case is limited to the e-mail usage of the word spam, which will not detract from the fame associated with Hormel’s meat products trademark. If I represented those other companies, I would move to dismiss the cases based on the Spam Arrest ruling, and I would expect to be successful.”
