Reese’s

Trademark: Reese’s

First Used: 1919 (candy); 1928 (peanut butter cups)

Registered: 1982

Current Owner: HERSHEY CHOCOLATE & CONFECTIONERY LLC [1]

Trademark Type: traditional trademark; word mark

Primarily Associated With: candy [2]

Generic Phrase: peanut butter cups, as in REESE’S® Brand peanut butter cups

Also A Trademark For: decorative magnets and clothing [3], peanut butter [4], breakfast cereal [5], ice cream [6], pastries and bakery goods [7], pet toys [8], cookies [9], lip balm and lip gloss [10], cakes [11], cake and cookie mixes [12], alcoholic beverages [13], and entertainment in the nature of a water park ride [14]

Brief (and likely incomplete) History [15]:

The story of Reese’s® Peanut Butter Cups begins with H.B. Reese, a persistent candy tinkerer who once worked in Hershey’s shipping department. Reese started making and selling homemade candy as early as 1919, turning out chocolate bars and treats in his basement and even naming some after his children. He used fresh ingredients and plenty of Hershey’s chocolate, but his early ventures with chocolate covered almonds and raisins never quite broke through. Then in 1928, Reese hit on the idea that would define his legacy: small chocolate-and-peanut-butter “penny cups,” sold for just one cent apiece, that quickly became his runaway best-seller.

Reese expanded into a full factory on Chocolate Avenue in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and made all sorts of candies, from raisin clusters to chocolate-covered dates. But World War II rationing forced him to make a tough call: cut down on variety and double down on the peanut butter cups. That bet paid off, cementing the cup as his company’s signature product. In 1963, The Hershey Company acquired Reese’s, and the humble “penny cup” became a billion-dollar brand. Today, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, with its bright Reese’s Orange color wrappers, are America’s best-selling candy, with seasonal shapes, jumbo sizes, and spin-offs galore: There’s No Wrong Way To Eat A Reese’s® [16].

Copyright © 2025 by Illustrated IP, LLC. All rights reserved.

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[1] Reese’s, HERSHEYLAND, https://www.hersheyland.com/reeses.

[2] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,074,163, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73072495&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[3] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,325,483, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73396729&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[4] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,834,806, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74227205&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[5] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,928,625, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74471967&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[6] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,920,030, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74554022&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[7] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,322,016, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74721537&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[8] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3,716,293, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=77510922&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[9] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3,576,156, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=77555028&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[10] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,850,998, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=78267916&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[11] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,488,051, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=86006556&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[12] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,576,035, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=86201794&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[13] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,893,075, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=86676427&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[14] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 6,548,499, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88882344&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[15] The Mecca of REESE’S Peanut Butter...and Proud of It, HERSHEYS CHOCOLATE WORLD, posted February 8, 2022, and available at https://www.chocolateworld.com/blog/reeses-brand.html; Reese's Peanut Butter Cups: The history of the world's best chocolate – explainer, THE JERUSALEM POST, posted July 25, 2024, and available at https://www.jpost.com/food-recipes/article-811412#google_vignette; The inventor of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup’s sticky road to success, MEDIUM, posted October 31, 2019, and available at https://flsplus.medium.com/the-inventor-of-the-reeses-peanut-butter-cup-s-sticky-road-to-success-2e7e3bf0695d; Top 10 Facts About Reese's Candy History, CANDYVILLE, posted November 4, 2024, and available at https://candyville.ca/blogs/news/top-10-facts-about-reeses-candy-history.

[16] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,900,044, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74405070&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.