spam, spam, spam, spam

Reuters reports that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has dismissed a lawsuit by Hormel, the Minnesota-based maker of Spam (the processed meat) against a Seattle-based software company that calls its e-mail filtering program “Spam Arrest". Hormel sued the software maker, claiming dilution on the trademarked name. Spam Arrest said that "consumers are smarter than to confuse us with the source for meat called spam." According to a local newspaper, Hormel Foods may appeal the decision.