Jack In The Box Trademarks
Please note: Gerben IP does not represent Jack In The Box. This page is provided for informational purposes and reflects information available in public USPTO records.
September 21, 2023
Jack in the Box, Inc., is an operator of a chain of restaurants specializing in hamburger and cheeseburger sandwiches. It also sells other food items such as tacos, fries, salads, shakes, drinks, desserts, quesadillas, egg rolls, cheese bites, and other side items.
The company operates in the U.S. with several Jack in the Box restaurant franchises, mostly located on the West Coast. The company’s headquartered in San Diego, California, and trades publicly in NASDAQ under the name JACK.
Let’s dive into Jack in the Box’s history, products, and trademarks.
Jack in the Box History
Robert Oscar Peterson founded Jack in the Box on February 21, 1951, in San Diego, California, where the company is still headquartered. He previously owned and operated several successful restaurants, including Topsy’s Drive-In, located at 6270 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego.
Robert opened the first Topsy’s Drive-In location in 1941. By the late 1940s, he had opened several other locations, each now donning a circus-like décor with drawings of a starry-eyed clown.
In 1947, Peterson acquired rights to use the intercom ordering concept developed and owned by George Manos. George ran Chatterbox, located in Anchorage, Alaska, and used the intercom concept for drive-up windows.
Peterson launched the first Jack in the Box outlet in 1951 at El Cajon Boulevard by converting it from Topsy’s Drive-In location. The first Jack in the Box location operated as a dedicated hamburger stand offering drive-thru service.
While the drive-thru concept was not new, Peterson’s use of a two-way intercom system made Jack in the Box the first major restaurant chain to use an intercom while offering dedicated drive-thru services.
The use of the two-way intercom sped up service delivery for Jack in the Box compared to traditional drive-up window outlets. Using the system, as one customer was being served at the window, one or two more could be making their orders through the intercom.
The location featured a giant clown projecting from the roof, with a smaller clown head attached to the top of the intercom with a sign saying, “Pull forward, Jack will speak to you.”
Russell Forester, a celebrated master architect, designed the original Jack in the Box concept. The idea was to conceive a “food machine” that would speed up service delivery compared to traditional drive-thru chains.
Given its superior, faster service, the first Jack in the Box outlet snowballed, and soon, all Topsy Drive-In locations owned by Peterson were converted into Jack in the Box restaurants.
In 1960, Robert Peterson formed Foodmaker Inc., which became the holding company for Jack in the Box. By this time, there were over 180 Jack in the Box restaurants, primarily in California and the Southwest. All stores were company-owned.
Jack in the Box enforced strict performance standards and rigorous screening in all locations for quality control, food preparation, and the hiring and training of staff and on-site managers.
Ralston Purina Company acquired Foodmaker from Robert Oscar Peterson in 1968. In the ’70s, Foodmaker Inc. launched an aggressive expansion drive for Jack in the Box, investing heavily in television commercials featuring child actor Rodney Allen Rippy. To also facilitate faster growth, Foodmaker Inc. started franchising Jack in the Box locations.
During this period, the company started strongly resembling its competition, particularly McDonald’s. However, the company started struggling in the latter part of the decade, and expansion into the East Coast was halted.
In 1985, Ralston Purina sold Foodmaker Inc. to management. After sales ballooned to $655 million in 1987, the company went public, boasting 897 restaurants. In March 2022, Foodmaker Inc. acquired Del Taco for $12.51 per share. Del Taco has over 600 locations in 16 states.
Jack in the Box Products
Jack in the Box is best known for its hamburgers. However, its most popular product is tacos which the restaurant chain has sold since the ’50s. As of 2017, the company had sold 554 million annually in tacos manufactured at their Texas and Kansas factories.
The three factories in Texas and Kansas create the tacos with the meat and hard taco shell, then transport it frozen to the restaurants. At the restaurants, it is deep-fried and prepared with lettuce, mild taco sauce, and cheese before serving.
Jack in the Box sells other Americanized foods from ethnic cuisines, such as breakfast burritos, egg rolls, and poppers.
Jack in the Box Trademarks
Jack in the Box has sought or obtained federal trademark registration for about 17 trademarks. These include “JUMBO JACK,” “JACK,” and “PANNIDOS.”
On July 15, 1975, Jack in the Box obtained federal trademark registration for “JUMBO JACK” and uses the trademark for its hamburger sandwiches.
Jack in the Box obtained federal trademark registration for “JACK” on January 15, 2013. The company uses the trademark for its chicken breast strips and sandwiches, namely hamburgers and chicken sandwiches.
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IC 043. US 100 101. G & S Restaurant services.
IC 043. US 100 101. G & S restaurant services. FIRST USE: 20170424. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20180507.
IC 043. US 100 101. G & S Restaurant services. FIRST USE: 20170424. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20180507.
IC 030. US 046. G & S Sandwiches. FIRST USE: 20181203. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20181203.
IC 043. US 100 101. G & S restaurant services. FIRST USE: 20160928. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20160928.
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S Magnetically encoded prepaid purchasing cards for use with point of sale transactions. FIRST USE: 20041018. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20041018.
IC 043. US 100 101. G & S Restaurant services. FIRST USE: 20040317. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20041229.
IC 043. US 100 101. G & S restaurant services. FIRST USE: 20080219. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20081227.
IC 035. US 100 101 102. G & S Electronic and mail-order catalog services featuring pens, pencils, glass mugs, plastic mugs, acrylic containers, [ photo frames, watches, clocks, calculators, pocket knives,] key rings, [ luggage tags, business card cases, bookmarks, yo-yos, briefcases, ] backpacks, sports bags, duffle bags, [ fanny packs,] coolers, [ compact disk cases, ] blankets, [ umbrellas, beach towels, ] beach chairs, beach balls, [ flying discs, ]sunglasses, antenna balls, men's women's [ and children's clothing ]. FIRST USE: 19980316. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19980316.
IC 030. US 046. G & S Chicken Sandwiches. FIRST USE: 19980915. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19980915.
IC 030. US 046. G & S hamburger sandwiches. FIRST USE: 19970303. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19970303.
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S antenna ball decorations. FIRST USE: 19950417. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19950417.
IC 042. US 100. G & S restaurant services. FIRST USE: 19850825. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19850825.
IC 029. US 046. G & S HAM, EGG AND CHEESE SANDWICHES. FIRST USE: 19720100. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19720100.
IC . US 046. G & S HAMBURGER SANDWICHES. FIRST USE: 19711020. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19711020.
IC . US 046. G & S FROZEN FOOD PRODUCTS-NAMELY, HAMBURGER PATTIES, TACOS, CHICKEN, [ SHRIMP, ] ONION RINGS [, AND APPLE TURNOVERS ]; [ AND ] HAMBURGER SAUCE [, SHRIMP SAUCE, ] AND TACO SAUCE. FIRST USE: 19600000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19600000.