Tabasco processes
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The Tabasco processes are various lawsuits that the company McIlhenny Co., makers of Tabasco sauce led to the 1920s. Points of contention in the processes were the manufacturing method, name and packaging design of the spicy sauce, which the company has been producing since 1868. Especially the trademark protection law of the USA, which was developing at this time, led to some contradicting judgments as well as fundamental decisions. Ultimately, McIlhenny Co. was granted the sole right to sell sauces called "Tabasco sauce".
The processes
As the McIlhenny Co. Tabasco sauce gained popularity over time, competitors tried to share in the sauce's success. This sometimes resulted in protracted disputes that mostly ended in court. A frequent point of contention was the manufacturing method, which was patented by McIlhenny in 1870 . It can be proven that as early as 1864 - 4 years before Edmund McIlhenny produced the first Tabasco sauce - a sauce was sold under the name " Maunsel White's Concentrated Essence of Tobasco Pepper ". Maunsel White, who died in 1863, had long before created his own recipe for making a sauce from chillies. However, McIlhenny Co.'s claims were defended by the fact that, according to Maunsel White's records, a mixture of chillies, vinegar, and salt was first cooked, but Edmund McIlhenny fermented an uncooked mixture.
Later, White's descendants made claims to the name "Tabasco", these were rejected because the " Maunsel White's Concentrated Essence of Tobasco Pepper " sauce was only known as " Maunsel White's " and was only started in 1870, including this one To advertise sauce with the term "Tabasco".
Another dispute over the name began around 1898 when a former McIlhenny Co. employee named BF Trappey founded BF Trappey and Sons and also made a sauce called "Tabasco". The dispute was settled in 1906 in favor of McIlhenny Co., on the basis of the "Trademark Act" passed by the USA in 1905, Tabasco became the trademark of McIlhenny Co.
Since US trademark law was only developing at this time and judges often had to make new fundamental judgments on new disputes, further negotiations about the use of the name Tabasco also took place after 1906 . Some competitors had continued to use the name, and in some cases the design of the products even mimicked that of the McIlhenny Co. Sauce. The legal proceedings dragged on until 1920, before the legality of the trademark ownership was doubted for various reasons. Among other things, it was decided that Tabasco is a designation of origin , so it cannot be protected under trademark law, but that in this case the word has been given a second meaning and is therefore worth protecting. In other disputes, it was questioned whether McIlhenny Co. fulfilled the sole use of the term for at least ten years, as required by trademark law at the time.
The ruling from 1920 is still legally binding today, McIlhenny Co. is the only company allowed to manufacture Tabasco sauce and even name sauces that do not contain any Tabasco chillies . However, since the patent protection on the production method has now expired, other manufacturers are allowed to sell sauces produced in a similar way. These are mostly marked with the name Louisiana Style and may bear the note that they are made from Tabasco chilis.
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- ↑ a b c Some Common Myths About TABASCO® brand Pepper Sauce ( Memento of the original from December 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - FAQ on www.tabasco.com
- ↑ See Hopkins, James Love: The law of trademarks, tradenames and unfair competition: including trade secrets, goodwill, the federal Trademark Acts of 1870, 1881 and 1905; 3rd edition. Cincinnati, 1917. Pages 204 and 222.
- ^ Roger M. Grace: "Reminiscing" - nostaligica columns , In: Metropolitan News-Enterprise; Los Angeles, USA; July 08, 2004 - November 12, 2004. Overview
