McSweet LLC, a Washington food company, attempted to register McSWEET as a trademark for pickled vegetables. McSweet asserted that the mark was created by combining the company founder's last name, McIntyre, with the word "sweet". "Sweet" refers to the sweet brine used to pickle onions.
McDonald's Corp., the fast-food chain, opposed McSweet's registration of the mark as early as 2009. In response, McSweet claimed that consumers wouldn't confuse the McSWEET mark with McDonald's marks, because no one would confuse a fast-food restaurant with a pickle company.
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board was not persuaded. On September 29, 2014, the Board ruled that: (1) the McSWEET mark was likely to confuse consumers into thinking that that it was related to the "MC" marks used by McDonald's; and (2) the McSWEET mark would likely dilute the distinctiveness of that group of marks. Notably, the Board acknowledged that the Second and Seventh Circuits both recognized that the dilution provisions of the Lanham Act are applicable to a family of a marks and agreed with their reasoning.
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