Vaseline
Trademark: Vaseline
First Used: 1870
First Registered: 1921
Current Owner: CONOPCO, INC. (Unilever) [1]
Trademark Type: traditional trademark; word mark; design mark
Primarily Associated With: petroleum jelly [2]
Generic Phrase: the company now prefers the phrase “healing jelly,” as in VASELINE® brand healing jelly
Also A Trademark For: lip sticks and lip pomades [3]; lotion [4]; medicated skin preparations [5], and non-medicated skin preparations [6]
Brief (and likely incomplete) History [7]:
The Vaseline brand was created from a chance observation in the Pennsylvania oil fields. In 1859, British chemist Robert Chesebrough noticed that oil workers were using a thick residue from drilling rigs known as “rod wax” to soothe cuts and burns. Rod wax formed naturally during early oil extraction when crude oil rose to the surface and cooler air temperatures caused heavier hydrocarbons to separate, solidify, and cling to the metal pump rods. Although drillers initially scraped it off as an inconvenience, workers began applying the waxy substance to minor injuries because it sealed the skin and protected wounds from dirt and infection.
Chesebrough refined the material and purified it into a stable petroleum jelly. In 1872, the new jelly was released commercially under the name VASELINE®, a blend of the German word wasser for water and the Greek word elaion for oil. At a time when patent medicines were everywhere, petroleum jelly stood out as a simple, versatile product with real utility, quickly earning a place in American households for skin care, wound protection, and everyday fixes.
Over the decades, the Vaseline brand grew from a single jar of petroleum jelly into one of the most recognizable personal care brands in the world. The product became a staple during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, traveling with explorers, soldiers, and doctors, and gaining a reputation for reliability and universality. In fact, the product packaging itself became so well known that the Vaseline Jar Shape is a registered non-traditional trademark! In the modern era, Vaseline expanded beyond its original formula into lotions, lip products, and specialized skin care lines while still anchoring the brand in its core ingredient and heritage.
Unilever, the parent company of Conopco and owner of the Vaseline brand, is also the owner of several other well-known brand names that you might recognize (and be surprised they are all co-owned): AXE® body spray [8], DEGREE® deodorant [9], DOVE® soap [10], HELLMAN’S® mayonnaise [11], LIQUID I.V.® hydration powder [12], NUTRAFOL® vitamins [13], and TRESemmé® hair care products [14].
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[1] Unilever, https://www.unilever.com/; Vaseline, https://www.vaseline.com/us/en/home.html.
[2] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 140,345, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=71134935&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[3] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 319,120, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=71353602&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[4] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,532,124, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76274434&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[5] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,280,087, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=77594219&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[6] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,704,115, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=85637053&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[7] Our History, VASELINE, available at https://www.vaseline.com/us/en/who-we-are/our-history.html; Vaseline, UNILEVER, available at https://www.unileverusa.com/brands/beauty-wellbeing/vaseline/; THE STORY OF: Vaseline, 29 SECRETS, available at https://29secrets.com/beauty/the-story-of-vaseline/; The History of an Incredibly Useful U.S. Product: Vaseline, FOR DUMMIES, last updated March 26, 2016, and available at https://www.dummies.com/article/the-history-of-an-incredibly-useful-u-s-product-vaseline-154344/.
[8] Axe, UNILEVER, https://www.unileverusa.com/brands/personal-care/axe/; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,700,941, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76105975&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[9] Degree, UNILEVER, https://www.unileverusa.com/brands/personal-care/degree/; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,574,203, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73777212&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[10] Dove, UNILEVER, https://www.unileverusa.com/brands/beauty-wellbeing/dove/; Dove Men+Care, UNILEVER, https://www.unileverusa.com/brands/personal-care/dove-men-care/; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,052,770, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75114671&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[11] Hellman’s, UNILEVER, https://www.unileverusa.com/brands/foods/hellmanns/; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 514,280, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=71567382&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[12] Liquid I.V., UNILEVER, https://www.unileverusa.com/brands/beauty-wellbeing/liquid-iv/; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 6,981,472, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=90680371&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[13] Nutrafol, UNILEVER, https://www.unileverusa.com/brands/beauty-wellbeing/nutrafol/; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,804,467, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=85883238&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[14] TRESemmé, UNILEVER, https://www.unileverusa.com/brands/beauty-wellbeing/tresemme/; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 952,314, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=72406110&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.