A New Jersey Democrat congressional candidate seeking to unseat a 42-year Republican representative ruffled a few feathers after Wawa accused the politician of stealing the convenience store’s goose logo.
Matt Jenkins, who is challenging incumbent Chris Smith in New Jersey’s 4th District, received a cease-and-desist letter from Wawa Wednesday that Politico obtained alleging that the politician has been using an identical trademark that the chain used from 1990 to 2004.
“If Wawa allows other uses – such as the use by your campaign – it runs the very real risk that its trademarks will be weakened,” Douglas Panzer, intellectual property attorney for Wawa, wrote in the letter. “As a New Jerseyan, familiar with Wawa’s reputation among and relationship with the public, we trust that is not something that you would want to occur.”
Panzer, an attorney for Caesar Rivise law firm, said it represents Wawa, Inc. and Wild Goose Holding Co., Inc, which owns the patent of the Wawa Goose trademark design. He noted that Jenkins’ congressional campaign has been “using a logo highly similar to and likely to be confused with Wawa’s well-known goose logo.”
Jenkins’ campaign logo showcases two geese near his first and last name.
“In fact, it appears that the geese used in your campaign’s logo are identical to Wawa’s earlier goose logo,” Panzer wrote.
When Politico reported the similarities between both logos, Jenkin’s responded that the Wawa symbol represents “a lot of people in our district.”
“When we launched this race to replace Chris Smith, I wanted our logo to feel instantly familiar,” Jenkins tweeted. However, the New Jersey politician would later dispute to Politico that his logo was “inspired” by Wawa, adding on Tuesday that it was just a “coincidence.”
For a lot of people in our district, Wawa represents them. When we launched this race to replace Chris Smith, I wanted our logo to feel instantly familiar.
— Matt Jenkins for Congress (@MattJenkinsNJ) September 27, 2022
Before a friend of Jenkins pointed out his campaign logo resembled the convenience store, he allegedly told Politico in a phone interview that the logo was one of a dozen designs his campaign team created and did not make the connection with Wawa.
Wawa currently has more than 800 locations in the region.
A Wawa lobbyist had then told Jenkins to “discretely” stop using the geese for his campaign.
Panzer said it gives an impression that Wawa has an association or sponsorship with his campaign.
“And as you stated in your Tweets … the use of the Wawa Goose in your campaign’s logo is immediately familiar because of Wawa’s notoriety among the people of New Jersey,” Panzer wrote.
Jenkins allegedly admitted Thursday that both logos are identical, but did not specify if he would change it.
“In the letter it says this was an old trademark … ‘formerly registered,’” Jenkins said, according to Politico. “This is going to cost me money to change. Everybody knows my finances. I don’t have any. To go out and reprint my signs, all my literature.”
Jenkins said he called his team, who allegedly believes his congressional race opponent, Rep. Smith, may have ousted him to Wawa — although he admitted he has no evidence to support the claim.
Still, Panzer “kindly” requested that Jenkins and his team immediately cease and desist from using the Wawa goose logo.
“While we appreciate your affinity for Wawa and your recognition of its special relationship with the people of New Jersey, failure of Wawa to enforce the exclusivity of its marks could have a diluting effect on the value of our client’s mark and accordingly requires that we stop any unauthorized use of those marks or marks confusingly similar thereto,” Panzer wrote.