DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa-based convenience store has asked a federal judge to rule that the word “footlong” is part of the general English language and not the special property of the Subway restaurant chain. Ankeny-based Casey’s General Stores filed a lawsuit against Subway in U.S. District Court on Friday seeking a declaration that Casey’s use of the word “footlong” to describe its 12-inch-long sandwiches doesn’t violate any right owned by Subway. Casey’s lawsuit also seeks a declaration that “footlong” is a generic description of a sandwich that measures 1 foot, and that Subway’s attempt to assert trademark rights is “frivolous litigation.” Besides, aren’t “footlong” hot dogs a staple from the Atlantic City boardwalk to Coors Field?
“We maintain the use of ‘footlong’ by itself to describe a sandwich, which is approximately a foot long, is as old as the hills and everybody has that right and has had that right since they’ve been making foot-long sandwiches,” Ed Sease, an attorney for Casey’s, said Monday. The dispute between Casey’s and Subway surfaced when one of Subway’s attorneys, Valerie Pochron, wrote to Casey’s on Jan. 31, saying Doctor’s Associate, owner of Subway, had applied for the trademark “footlong” for its sandwiches and Casey’s could face legal action. The Associated Press
