(NewsNation) — The J.M. Smucker Company is suing Trader Joe’s accusing the grocery chain of infringing trademarks tied to its Uncrustables product.
The lawsuit was filed in Ohio on Monday.
The lawsuit references Trader Joe’s “back to school” product being “an obvious attempt to trade off on the fame and recognition” of the Uncrustables design.
The lawsuit also asserted that Trader Joe’s violated the Uncrustables trademark by using blue packaging similar to Smucker Co. branding.
“Smucker does not take issue with others in the marketplace selling prepackaged, frozen, thaw-and-eat crustless sandwiches,” the company said in its lawsuit. “But it cannot allow others to use Smucker’s valuable intellectual property to make such sales.”
Smucker is seeking restitution from Trader Joe’s.
A message seeking comment was left Wednesday with Trader Joe’s, which is based in Monrovia, California.
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 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 said it has spent more than $1 billion developing the Uncrustables brand over the last 20 years. Smucker spent years trying to perfect Uncrustables’ stretchy bread and developing new filling flavors like chocolate and hazelnut.
Kelber said one of the biggest issues companies debate in cases like this one is whether the copycat product deceives consumers.
Smucker claims that’s already happening with Trader Joe’s sandwiches. In the lawsuit, Smucker showed a social media photo of a person claiming that Trader Joe’s is contracting with Smucker to make the sandwiches under its own private label.
This isn’t the first time Smucker has taken legal action to protect its Uncrustables brand. In 2022, it sent a cease and desist letter to a Minnesota company called Gallant Tiger, which was making upscale versions of crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with crimped edges. Smucker said Wednesday that it hasn’t taken further action but continues to monitor Gallant Tiger.
Smucker likely felt it had no choice but to sue this time around, Kelber said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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