AUNT JEMIMA DOCTRINE
Aunt Jemima doctrine.Trademarks. The principle that a trademark is protected not only from
use on a directly competing product, but also from use on a product so closely related in the
marketplace that consumers would be confused into thinking that the products came from a single
source.Aunt Jemima Mills Co. v. Rigney & Co., 247 F. 407 (2d Cir. 1917); 15 USCA § 1114. • In
the namesake case, the name used on pancake flour was later used on syrup. The issue was not
whether a competitor was trying to pass off goods, but whether it was fair to let the name’s second
user jeopardize the goodwill built up by the first user. See COMPLEMENTARY GOODS. [Cases:
Trade Regulation 339, 341. C.J.S. Trade-Marks, Trade-Names, and Unfair Competition §§ 81,
84, 86.][Blacks Law 8th]