The court granted SJ in favor of Viacom for trademark infringement, but not dilution.Īlthough Viacom had no federal trademark registration or application for “The Krusty Krab,” the court explained it was protectable as a common-law trademark owned by Viacom, in part because Viacom had presented sufficient evidence of acquired distinctiveness. Viacom moved for summary judgment, which the court recently granted in part. 86470477) for the mark THE KRUSTY KRAB for “restaurant services.” Viacom (the distributor of the show and parent company to Nickelodeon) objected through a cease-and-desist letter to IJR, asking it to withdraw its trademark application and change the name of its restaurant. IJR persisted with its application and its plans to open a restaurant under that name. Eventually, Viacom filed a complaint in federal court (the Southern District of Texas), alleging various claims including trademark infringement and dilution. The Krusty Krab restaurant, famous in Bikini Bottom for its Krabby Patty burgers, recently became embroiled in a trademark dispute.Ī couple years ago, a real-life, above-water company IJR Capital Investments filed an intent-to-use trademark application (Serial No.
Krabs, the penny-pinching crustacean and owner of the Krusty Krab.
The series follows the adventures of SpongeBob and his various friends and co-workers, including Patrick, a friendly starfish who lives under a rock, Squidward Tentacles, SpongeBob’s ill-tempered neighbor, and Sandy Cheeks, a squirrel from Texas. It is one of the highest-rated and most-watched animated series to air on television. Many of us, myself included, grew up watching it on Nickelodeon since the early 2000s (or watched our kids watch it) (or still watch it as adults).įor those of you who are less familiar, the series revolves around SpongeBob, a yellow sea sponge, who lives in a pineapple and works as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab, in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. If you know the answer to that theme-song question, you’ve probably seen, or at least heard of, the popular cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants.