Hi everyone,
Recently I came across the news of Mr Potato Head’s gender neutral rebranding by dropping the “mister”.
As the article notes however, this is a qualified “sort of” rebranding. Despite announcing that they will drop the “mister” and “missus”, Hasbro will be keeping and continuing to sell the Mr and Mrs Potato Head toys, in conjunction with the new gender-neutral Potato Heads.
In addition to the sales aspect, this seems to me like an attempt to keep the trademark from non-use, similar to the NBA case we discussed in class. I am also reminded of the Promafil v Munsingwear (corpulent penguin) case in the question of whether the new Potato Heads are a variation of the old marks. In any case, by continuing to sell the old Mr/Mrs Potato Heads, Hasbro has made it clear that they are not abandoning their old trademark.
Communications Law