Supervalu opposes Wal-Mart's EDLP trademark

Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Supervalu Inc. and the National Grocers Association are fighting efforts by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to trademark the term EDLP, an acronym for its “ Every Day Low Prices” strategy. Last week they opposed Wal-Mart’s trademark application at the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office.



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For its application to be approved, Wal-Mart must prove the acronym is associated with Wal-Mart and is not commonly used by other companies, added Jim Nikolai, an intellectual property attorney in Minneapolis. “ It’s possible that, through a lot of promotions and advertising, the consuming public can associate a particular term with a particular company, ” he said.

IPBiz notes that the standard is associating the mark with a particular source (ie, Wal-Mart would not have to prove association with Wal-Mart per se). Unlike patent law, trademark law is interpreted in each particular regional circuit court of appeals.