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In a press release, issued Tuesday, January 21, Fletcher’s Original State Fair Corny Dogs, LLC announced they had achieved an important victory in a trademark dispute with a company that is seeking to unfairly capitalize on the reputation of the famous Fletcher™s™ brand.
Neil and Carl Fletcher, invented corn dogs in Dallas, Texas, in 1938 and introduced them at the 1942 State Fair of Texas. Over the past 77 years, millions of people have enjoyed Fletcher™s™ brand corn dogs, and the Fletcher’s name has become world-famous, symbolizing our delicious meal on a stick. Today, Fletcher’s™ brand corn dogs can be enjoyed at the great State Fair of Texas, as well as fairs, festivals, and events both public and private throughout Texas and the southwest. Fletcher™s™ is an iconic brand to the many fans who travel to the State Fair of Texas to relive childhood memories as they enjoy a Fletcher™s Original Corny Dog™ and introduce their own children to this longstanding Texas tradition.
In September 2019, Fletcher’s Original Corny Dogs reluctantly filed a trademark infringement case against Victoria Fletcher, Jace Fletcher Christensen and their recently-formed company, Fletcher-Warner Holdings. Fletcher™s brought this case because the Defendants, without consent, began using the confusingly similar name Fletch to sell corn dogs. Fletcher™s filed the lawsuit to prevent its loyal fans from being confused in the marketplace and to protect its trademark rights.
Out of all the possible names the Defendants could have chosen for their new venture, they chose the confusingly similar name Fletch because it would associate them with Fletcher™s to consumers. Their use of the name Fletch immediately caused confusion among consumers and the public as to the source, affiliation, and sponsorship of Fletch™s corn dogs. Corn dog fans, event organizers and the media alike, long familiar with the quality and reputation of Fletcher™s™ brand corn dogs, mistakenly believed that Fletch was somehow affiliated with Fletcher™s and their products were from the same source.
On Monday, January 13, 2020, the federal court in Plano, Texas, orally granted Fletcher™s motion for a preliminary injunction, ordering that Defendants may not use the marks Fletcher™s, Fletch, Eat Fletch, and EatFletch in any form of interstate commerce in the food and beverage industry. The Defendants were also ordered to remove all advertisements displaying the marks Fletcher™s, Fletch, Eat Fletch, and EatFletch, including Defendants™ website, social media and accounts with third parties. The court followed-up with a detailed written order on Friday, January 17, 2020.
“We are thrilled with the court™s ruling and are grateful for the public support and enthusiasm of our many fans. We regret the confusion some of our fans experienced from Fletch™s actions, but we hope that the court™s order will quickly begin to eliminate the confusion so that our fans may be assured that they are enjoying genuine Fletcher™s™ brand corn dogs, said Amber Fletcher, on behalf of the Fletcher family. We feel a deep sense of gratitude and are excited to move forward and focus on the many exciting events and projects Fletcher’s has happening this year.
Fletcher’s Original Corny Dogs™ is participating in many events outside of the State Fair of Texas in 2020 and can be found at the Terrell Jubilee in Terrell, TX, Derrick Days in Corsicana, TX, AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas, and the Parker Country Peach Festival in Weatherford, TX to name a few. For more on Fletcher’s Original Corny Dogs™, visit www.fletcherscornydogs.com.
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