Cartoon stick figure pointing towards a chalkboard with “Wave Runner” written in large chalk letters — representing a blog post about personal watercrafts and the Wave Runner word mark trademark registration.

Trademark: Wave Runner

First Used: December 1986

Registered: October 1988

Current Owner: YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA [1]

Trademark Type: traditional trademark; word mark

Primarily Associated With: water scooter and structural parts therefor [2]

Generic Phrase: personal watercraft, as in WAVE RUNNER® Brand personal watercraft

Similar Trademarks: WAVE BLASTER® [3], JET BLASTER® [4], and SUPERJET® [5] for personal watercrafts

Brief (and likely incomplete) History [6]:

A personal watercraft (PWC), also known as a water scooter, is a small recreational watercraft propelled by an inboard water jet engine. Some of the most famous personal watercraft brands include Jet Ski® (Kawasaki) [7], Wave Runner® (Yamaha) [8] (with its iconic Visibility Spout), and Sea-Doo® (Bombardier) [9].

Neil Kobayashi, known as the "Wave Runner Papa," invented the Wave Runner® personal watercraft. His vision was shaped during the 1970s while stationed in Shonan, Japan. Inspired by small, motorized watercraft like surfboards fitted with propulsion devices, Kobayashi aimed to develop an affordable and widely accessible craft. In the early 1980s, Kobayashi worked with Yamaha, traditionally focused on motorboats but looking to expand, to develop his idea. Through extensive prototyping, Yamaha created the "Power-Ski," which caught the attention of Yamaha Motor Corporation USA. By 1985, Yamaha had refined the concept into the Mini Marine Vehicle (MMV) project, incorporating design improvements like increased weight for stability and a shallow-V hull for enhanced maneuverability.

In 1986, Yamaha officially launched the Wave Runner 500, which was also known as the Yamaha Marine Jet 500T or WR500. Unlike the Jet Ski personal watercraft, which originally released as a stand-up only watercraft, the Wave Runner 500 was the world's first sit-down, open-stern personal watercraft. Its innovative design made it easier to ride than stand-up models, helping to establish a new category of marine recreation. Over the decades, Yamaha has continued innovating the Wave Runner series (including with the Yamaha Visibility Spout), reinforcing its reputation for performance, reliability, and accessibility, ensuring its place as a leader in the personal watercraft industry.

[1] Yamaha, https://www.yamahawaverunners.com/.

[2] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,508,023, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73703080&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[3] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 6,132,887, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=79284132&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[4] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 6,358,378, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=79286957&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[5] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 5,675,199, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88017898&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[6] History of WaveRunners (PWC), YAMAHA, available at https://global.yamaha-motor.com/business/waverunner/history/; WaveRunner 30th Anniversary, YAMAHA, available at https://global.yamaha-motor.com/business/waverunner/30th/history/; Yamaha WaveRunner History, YAMAHAPART.COM, available at https://www.yamahapart.com/yamahawaverunnerhistory; Our History, YAMAHA WAVERUNNERS, available at https://www.yamahawaverunners.com/our-story/.

[7] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,394,547, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73461685&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[8] Id. at 2.

[9] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,532,911, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73605044&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.