Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 12, 1993 TAG: 9309120038
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NICEVILLE, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
Little Debbie is the trademark for snack cakes made by McKee Foods Corp. of Collegedale, Tenn., which has a plant in Stuarts Draft.
McKee has asked a federal panel to revoke Debbie and Skip Singleton's trademark for Debbie's Famous Granola. Debbie Singleton has been making the cereal commercially for three years in a quaint country cottage outside this Florida Panhandle town.
"If I change my name now, I'm out of business," Singleton said. "Because we are a small company, that's all we have."
But McKee contends the Singletons have no right to use "Debbie" because Little Debbie began appearing on its own Sunbelt brand granola and granola bars long before the Singletons went into business.
Although both names are on the McKee packages, the Sunbelt logo is more prominent and larger. Also, Little Debbie is not registered for cereal.
"All we are trying to do is to protect our very valuable trademarks and to prevent the public from being confused," said McKee spokeswoman Eva Lynn Disbro. She said McKee has spent millions of dollars to make Little Debbie a household word.
People in Niceville and nearby communities have rallied to the Singletons' side, writing letters to McKee and threatening to boycott Little Debbie.
The Singletons are "trying to attract media attention by portraying themselves as underdogs being put upon by a large, overreaching company," Disbro complained.
They don't deny it. The Singletons said their only hope may be public pressure because they cannot afford the legal fees it may take to battle McKee before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and possibly later in court.
"That's where they know they've got us because as a big company, right or wrong, they can afford it," Skip Singleton said. "We're in a no-win situation."
The Singletons, who have seven employees including themselves, hope to break even for the first time this year.
They contend McKee's tactics are unfair because McKee did not object when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved their mark two years ago. Then McKee last year applied for registration of its Little Debbie trademark for breakfast cereals and a new mark, Debbies.
The Patent and Trademark Office rejected both because of potential confusion with Debbie's Famous Granola, prompting McKee to seek revocation of the Singletons' trademark.
Singleton called Little Debbie founder Ellsworth McKee, who named his bakery products after his granddaughter. Singleton appealed to him to remember his roots as a struggling small businessman. She said McKee told her his main worry was that an industry giant would buy her out and produce Debbie's Famous products at much lower prices. Singleton said McKee also left the impression his company wants to update its image with the Debbie-only trademark.
"The bottom line is we got in their way when they tried to get their new mark," she said.
by CNB