Branded and Bolder: The 2025 San Jacinto Spice Blend
We upped our game this year by modifying the recipe slightly and adding the San Jacinto brand to our annual spice, which begins shipping later this month.
Inspiration Behind This Year's Theme
The Republic of Texas was born on April 21, 1836, when General Sam Houston and about 900 "Texians" defeated the Mexican Army led by Santa Anna along the banks of the San Jacinto River, ending the War of Texas Independence.
In that same spirit of freedom, we help our clients succeed by staking out their own territories protected by intellectual property to access new markets for their products and services.
Intellectual Property Strategies to Protect Spice Blends
Patents can protect novel combination of chemicals that comprise the spice, the method by which the spice is manufactured, and how the spice is packaged in the bottle—or possibly the bottle itself. To qualify for patent protection, the process or combination of chemicals must be considered patentable subject matter under the Patent Act, 35 U.S.C. § 101, and also be considered "novel".
Copyrights can protect the creative expression of the idea set forth in the packaging label. While a copyright comes into existence when the label is created, a copyright registration is required to enforce the rights in a lawsuit.
Trademarks can protect the source identifier for the spice product (e.g., the San Jacinto name). While a federal trademark or state trademark registration are not required to be enforceable, there are significant advantages to obtaining a trademark registration.
Trade Secrets can protect the recipe of the spice that provides a competitive advantage by being unknown to the public. For example, the secret recipe for Coca Cola is one of the best know trade secrets. Taking steps to keep the trade secret confidential is an important step toward maintaining trade secret protection.
Design Patents can protect the ornamental feature of the product design such as a cap or container that contains ornamental, non-functional features that help identify the product to the consuming public. To obtain protection, a design patent application must be filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Trade Dress can protect product packaging and possibly features of the product that function as source identifiers. Like a federal trademark, trade dress can be protected by a federal trade dress registration (a special form of trademark) or through common law.
Domain Name Registration could be used to market the spice using the spice's trademark as the URL.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
