JEEP again

[victor steinbok]

I don't doubt your claim, up to a point. Jeep became a trade name in
1941 and American Bantam and WIllys held the original Army contracts,
with Ford also playing a role--all vehicles being referred to as
"Jeep" at one time or another (but not in the model name). Following
Bantam's design, there were a number of "me-too" vehicles and, I
suspect, the Dodge in question was one of them.

I just checked USPTO and here's the original Jeep mark:

(EXPIRED) IC 007. US 023. G & S: INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES AND PARTS
THEREOF. FIRST USE: 19410200. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19430125
Serial Number   71458642
Filing Date     February 19, 1943
Registration Number     0550602
Registration Date       November 13, 1951

Note the "first use" date. Dodge manufactured in 1941-42, so it almost
certainly followed that use, not preceded it. The irony is that Willys
models were not formally labeled as "Jeep" until 1943, which is likely
what cause the intermediate confusion.

Another twist is that this "first use" is not the earliest. Here's
another Willys mark:

IC 012. US 019. G & S: AUTOMOBILES AND STRUCTURAL PARTS THEREOF. FIRST
USE: 19401120. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19430205
Serial Number   71458520
Filing Date     February 13, 1943
Supplemental Register Date       December 10, 1948
Registration Number     0526175
Registration Date       June 13, 1950

The first one is now dead, the latter one is still live (owned by
Chrysler). There is a difference between them--the latter mark is
labeled "structured text", while the former represents a logo. Either
way, the "first use" date is important. Neither mark specifies the
size of car/truck to which it was attached (Jeep was incorporated late
in 1941 but remained fully within Willys).

The interesting part is that the cartoon copyright holders also took
out the trademark:

(CANCELLED) IC 016. US 038. G & S: CARTOONS. FIRST USE: 19360326.
FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19360326
Serial Number   71377004
Filing Date     April 9, 1936
Registration Number     0338016
Registration Date       August 25, 1936

Interestingly enough, this mark was only cancelled in 2008.

VS-)


On 9/23/10, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> That would make sense if the application of "jeep" to the command car was
> based on a commercial brand. "Jeep" was not one's brand-name in 1941. It was
> originally folk terminology, and the 1/2-ton car was indeed mfrd. by
> Dodge:  http://www.od43.com/Dodge_WC-6.html  There were a number of models.
>
> Both the 1/4- and 1/2-ton vehicles were introduced at roughly the same time
> and bore a vague superficial resemblance. It isn't surprising that the name
> would be applied to either.  The 1/2-ton car was never, so far as I know,
> called a "jeep" by its manufacturer. Nor was the 3/4-ton version of 1942,
> which also looked like a giant Willys "jeep":
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/appleman64/4458200649/ (Note the machine's
> heroic pose.)
>
> The only sense I can make out of the existence of both "peep" and "jeep" is
> that people who used both names first associated "jeep" with the larger,
> less publicized vehicle.
>
> JL

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