BREAKING BAD CONTESTS BAKING TRADEMARK BAD COOKING SHOW
Breaking Bad was a five-season television series that followed drug lord Walter White throughout the world. One of television’s most critically acclaimed episodes featured a chemical teacher who turned a meth cook. That popularity hasn’t faded, which is one of the reasons the show’s producers filed a trademark opposition against a trademark application for Baking Bad.
BREAKING BAD TRADEMARK DISPUTE
Sony Pictures Television filed a trademark opposition against Thomas Mihill on January 31, 2022. Most people aren’t familiar with that moniker, but they are familiar with the term Baking Bad. It’s because “the mark sound[s] and looks[s] similar” to Breaking Bad, according to Sony’s opposition.
Thomas Mihill filed an intent to use trademark application with the USPTO in March 2021. Baking Bad appears to be more aimed on making gourmet pleasures than Breaking Bad, which was centred on the cooking of an illegal substance. However, if the USPTO judges the claims detailed in Sony’s objection to be valid, the humorous turn of phrase may not make it to production.
Sony contends that there is a risk of confusion in its opposition notice. Parties must normally operate in the same or a related industry for this to be true. While Breaking Bad and Baking Bad have the commonality of being television shows, would viewers mistake a cookery show for one of the most successful fictitious series ever?
AN EXTENSION OF A TRADEMARK INTO FOOD SERVICE
Dilution and risk of misinterpretation are listed as grounds for resistance in Sony’s filings. The accusation of trademark dilution through blurring appears to be self-evident. For example, it’s simple to understand how the registration of Baking Bad could sever the link between Breaking Bad and their licenced products in the consumer’s mind.
Sony, on the other hand, acknowledges the possibility of misunderstanding within their rivalry. That’s because Sony has leveraged Breaking Bad intellectual property in the food and beverage industry, despite the fact that the goods haven’t gotten nearly as much attention as the television show. Heisenberg Blue Ice Vodka, Schraderbrau beer, and Los Pollos Hermanos pop-up eateries are among these ventures.
Despite the fact that the Breaking Bad world has grown into various forms of visual media, the moniker has yet to be applied to a cooking show. However, because trademarks from the series have been exploited in the food and beverage industry, Baking Bad can be a direct rival. Consumers, on the other hand, might be able to link the two. This lends credence to Sony’s assertion of possible confusion.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
If no extensions are granted, the applicant for Baking Bad will have until March 12, 2022 to answer to Sony’s opposition. If you don’t do so, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) will rule in Sony’s favour.
However, if both parties continue to pursue their differences, the TTAB matter may not be resolved until 2023. For the time being, we’ll have to wait and watch how the creators of Baking Bad react. While the play on words is amusing, it is that amusement that puts it in direct violation with Breaking Bad trademark rights.