According
to its Wikipedia entry, "UMAMI /uːˈmɑːmi/,
a savory taste, is one of the five basic tastes, (together
with sweet, sour, bitter and salty)." Its
linguistic origins are Japanese: "A loanword from the
Japanese (うま味), umami can be translated "pleasant savory taste".
A
non-profit organization, the Umami Information Center (UIC) was established in
1982 in order to convey accurate information about umami as a basic taste. According to the UIC, the umami flavor is attracting the attention of chefs
around the world, in part due to the boom in Japanese food.
However,
the word has not left those American chefs trying to brand it into a trademark with a very
pleasant taste in their mouths.
For
example, just this week, California-based Umami Burger Licensing USA, LLC lost a bid to preliminarily enjoin upstart Umami Mia Pizzeria from further use of its name.
The
gourmet hamburger chain had filed a trademark infringement case against Umami
Mia Pizzeria, LLC in federal court in Austin, Texas. The Umami Burger chain
boasts numerous locations in high-end areas in southern and northern
California, as well as in Miami, Florida and Greenwich Village, New York.
According
to its website, Umami Burger's founder Adam Fleischman developed the
high-end burger restaurant concept dedicated to the all-American classic food after developing a palate for fine wines and managing some of Los
Angeles' finest wine bars. He opened his first Umami Burger on La Brea
[California] in 2009.
Its menu
boasts burgers covered in "house-made truffle cheese,"
"port-caramelized onions," and even "Welsh Rabbit burgers."
The New York City establishment boasts a 3 hour wait.
The Texas
upstart, Umami
Mia Pizzeria is located solely in Austin, and offers a more pizza-centric menu, devoid
of any type of hamburgers.
After holding a hearing, Federal
District Court Judge Sam Sparks was apparently unconvinced that UMAMI could
function as a trademark in this instance, and rejected the argument that
consumers would likely be confused into associating the restaurants.
It is
worth noting that Fleischman's recent difficulties in successfully monopolizing
"UMAMI" as a trademark are not novel, and the word has endured a
tortured history under U.S. trademark law.
For
example, in 1995, Tucker Food Products, Inc., a Missouri company, had sought to
trademark the word UMAMI in connection with sauces and marinades, volunteering that
the "English translation of 'UMAMI' is 'deliciousness', 'taste', 'flavor'
and/or 'relish'." The mark was approved for publication, but Tucker
never filed any statement of use, so the mark was later deemed abandoned.
Subsequently,
the trademark "UMAMI" became successfully registered in 2009 by
Mastronardi Produce, a Canadian company, in connection with tomatoes.
Initially,
the Trademark Office deemed the word UMAMI "merely descriptive"
as used in connection with tomatoes and refused Mastronardi's application
on the basis that the term UMAMI merely described its taste. According to
the U.S. Trademark Office, UMAMI "is sometimes considered to be a fifth
basic taste along with sweet, sour, salty, and bitter." Further,
ripe tomatoes are apparently rich in components that lead to UMAMI.
However,
Mastronardi's trademark lawyers were able to convince the Trademark Office that
"UMAMI TOMATO" currently has no particular linguistic significance in
the trade or industry, and as such, is not descriptive of anything in
particular about tomatoes. By further offering to disclaim any rights to the
word "TOMATO," the Trademark Office permitted
the mark UMAMI to become a registered trademark for tomatoes.
Subsequently,
Fleischman was also able to register multiple federal
trademarks on "UMAMI CAFE," and "UMAMI BURGER." He is apparently now attempting to register "UMAMI CHIPS,"
and "UMAMI ENERGY" (for energy drinks).
But
Fleischman has company. Many other companies and individuals have been
similarly attempting to register "UMAMI BEER", "UMAMI
SUSHI", "UMAMI OYSTER", and "UMAMI TSUNAMI" (for
condiments).
The recent
battle in Austin over use of the word is clearly not the end of the conflict. Even
though Judge Sparks denied Fleischman's bid to stop Umami Mia Pizzeria, that is
only a preliminary decision. A full trial on the merits is expected in 2014.
