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The J.M. Smucker Co. is suing Trader Joe’s, alleging the grocery chain’s new frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are too similar to Smucker’s Uncrustables in their design and packaging.
In the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Ohio, Smucker’s said the round, crustless sandwiches Trader Joe’s sells have the same pie-like crimp markings on their edges that Uncrustables do. Smucker’s said the design violates its trademarks.
Smucker’s also asserted that the boxes Trader Joe’s PB&J sandwiches come in violate the Orrville, Ohio-based company’s trademarks because they are the same blue color it uses for the lettering on “Uncrustables” packages. Trader Joe’s boxes also show a sandwich with a bite mark taken out of it, which is similar to the Uncrustables design, Smucker’s said.
“Smucker’s does not take issue with others in the marketplace selling prepackaged, frozen, thaw-and-eat crustless sandwiches. But it cannot allow others to use Smucker’s valuable intellectual property to make such sales,” the company said in its lawsuit.
Smucker’s is seeking restitution from Trader Joe’s. It also wants a judge to require Trader Joe’s to deliver all products and packaging to Smucker’s to be destroyed.
Michael Kelber, chair of the intellectual property group at Neal Gerber Eisenberg, a Chicago law firm, said Smucker’s registered trademarks will help bolster its argument. But Trader Joe’s might argue that the crimping on its sandwiches is simply functional and not something that can be trademarked, Kelber said.
Trader Joe’s sandwiches also appear to be slightly more square than Uncrustables, so the company could argue that the shape isn’t the same, Kelber said.
Uncrustables were invented by two friends who began producing them in 1996 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Smucker’s bought their company in 1998 and secured patents for a “sealed, crustless sandwich” in 1999.
But it wasn’t easy to mass-produce them. In the lawsuit, Smucker’s said it has spent more than $1 billion developing the Uncrustables brand over the last 20 years. Smucker’s spent years trying to perfect Uncrustables’ stretchy bread and developing new filling flavors like chocolate and hazelnut.
This article was provided by The Associated Press.