Is Hormel Losing its Grip on Spam?:


(Magilla Marketing) Though the case has no official legal clout in the U.S., some American executives battling Hormel Foods over use of the word spam see positive signs in a tiny UK technology company’s victory over the food giant last week.
NetBop Technologies last week claimed to be the first to get the green light on an EU trademark for a product name containing the word “spam.”
According to NetBop, Hormel Foods, owner of the trademark SPAM for more than six decades, challenged the company in March 2005 for its attempt to trademark BopSpam, a product designed to filter bulk unsolicited e-mail.
Hormel dropped its opposition to the trademark when it became clear in a preliminary hearing that EU patent officials were leaning in NetBop’s favor, a statement from NetBop said.

It is believed to be Hormel’s first defeat on either side of the Atlantic in its rigorous defense of its trademark on SPAM, according to an attorney involved in a battle with the company.
A search on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Web site shows Hormel to be involved in more than 80 disputes over usage of the word “spam” in company and product names.