Jeep

Traditional TMs

Jun 4

Written By Lion Claw LLC

Cartoon stick figure pointing to a chalkboard with “Jeep” written in large chalk letters — representing a blog post about the Jeep word mark.

Trademark: JEEP [1]

First Used: November 1940

First Registered: June 1950

Current Owner: FCA US LLC

Original Owner: Willys–Overland Motors

Trademark Type: traditional trademark; word mark

Primarily Known For: automobiles, as in Jeep® Brand automobiles

Generic Phrase: sports utility vehicle, lightweight utility vehicle, 4x4, and many other phrases

Also a trademark for: repair services [2], clothing [3], hand tools [4], jewelry [5], toys [6], sunglasses [7], footwear [8], backpacks [9], and other goods and services

Brief (and likely incomplete) History [10]

In 1940 as World War II raged on, the US Army solicited bids from automakers for a new "light reconnaissance vehicle." Only three automakers responded and Willys-Overland was awarded the contract for a prototype nicknamed the "Quad." How did the “Quad” become the Jeep brand known today? Well, there does not seem to be a single accepted origin story.

By one popular account, the word “Jeep” came from a phonetic slurring of “GP”, an identification given to early sport utility vehicles. What did “GP” stand for? Well, there is a discrepancy on that as well. Some stories identify “GP” as short for “General Purpose” vehicles. Other stories identify “GP” as “G” (for government use) and “P” (to designate an 80-inch wheelbase).

According to another story, “Jeep” was a term popularly used by military personnel as far back as World War I. In that context, the word “Jeep” was used as a slang word for new recruits and new and unproven military vehicles. When the new and unproven Quad was introduced in World War II, soldiers instinctively referred to it as “Jeep”, and the name stuck.

Yet another story involves the Popeye comic strip. First introduced in 1936, before the Quad was designed, the Popeye character Eugene the Jeep is a mysterious animal with magical abilities and is a long recurring pet and friend to Popeye. Today, “JEEP” is still a trademark for comic strips owned by Hearst Holdings, Inc. [11] (one of the few “Jeep” trademarks not associated with the vehicle manufacturer).

Finally, one other popular theory posits that “JEEP” is an acronym that stands for “Just Enough Essential Parts.”

After World War II, Willys-Overland shifted to producing Jeep vehicles for civilians. Willys-Overland applied for the "Jeep" trademark in 1943, but it was not granted a registration until seven years later because of the confusion over the origins of the name. Today, Jeep is one of the, if not the, most iconic brand names in sports utility vehicles.

[1] USPTO, US Trademark Registration No. 526,175, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=526175&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch.

[2] USPTO, US Trademark Registration No. 1,081,322, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=1081322&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[3] USPTO, US Trademark Registration No. 1,130,015, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=1130015&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[4] USPTO, US Trademark Registration No. 1,129,828, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=1129828&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[5] USPTO, US Trademark Registration No. 1,128,972, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=1128972&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[6] USPTO, US Trademark Registration No. 1,236,540, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=1236540&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[7] USPTO, US Trademark Registration No. 2,461,861, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=2461861&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[8] USPTO, US Trademark Registration No. 2,849,309, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=2849309&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[9] USPTO, US Trademark Registration No. 4,091,155, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=4091155&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[10] The Story of the Legend, Jeep, available at https://www.jeep.com/history.html; How the Jeep Got Its Name, MotorTrend, available at https://www.motortrend.com/features/1604-trail-head-how-the-jeep-got-its-name; How Jeep Got Its Name, Miracle Chrysler Dodge Jeep - TN, available at https://www.miraclechryslerdodgejeep.com/how-jeep-got-its-name/.

[11] USPTO, US Trademark Registration No. 3,523,084, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=3523084&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.