Cartoon stick figure riding a Yamaha personal watercraft with a pressurized stream of water exiting vertically from its rear end — representing a blog post about the Yamaha Visibility Spout motion mark non-traditional trademark.

Trademark: Yamaha Visibility Spout

First Used: February 1987

First Registered: January 1996

Current Owner: YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA (DBA Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.) [1]

Trademark Type: non-traditional trademark; motion mark

Primarily Associated With: jet propelled water vehicles [2]

Brief (and likely incomplete) History [3]:

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) [4], Wave Runner® (Yamaha) [5], and Sea-Doo® (Bombardier) [6].

Yamaha’s Wave Runner brand of personal watercrafts incorporates a unique visual display that sets it apart from other brand offerings. The Yamaha Visibility Spout motion mark (commonly known as the “Rooster Tail” or just “tail for short) is a pressurized stream of water exiting vertically from the rear end of the personal watercraft.

The Yamaha Visibility Spout motion mark was first introduced as a safety feature. Similar to a buggy whip antenna on a four-wheeler or ATV, the Yamaha Visibility Spout motion mark was designed to increase visibility of the watercraft, especially in conditions where the watercraft might be obscured by waves or rough water.

The mechanism behind the Yamaha Visibility Spout motion mark is relatively straightforward. A small tube diverts water from the jet pump's output, channeling it upward and out a flush-mounted nozzle in the swim platform. The resulting pressurized stream can create a 10-foot-high blast of water while the watercraft is under throttle.

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

[2] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,946,170, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74321288&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[3] WaveRunners, BOATS.COM, available at https://www.boats.com/boat-buyers-guide/waverunners/; How Does a Jet Ski Work®, UNIVERSAL TECHNICAL INSTITUTE (UTI), last updated February 24, 2025, and available at https://www.uti.edu/blog/marine/personal-watercraft; Video: All About Yamaha’s Visibility Spout & How to Disengage It, THE WATERCRAFT JOURNAL, posted January 28, 2021, and available at https://watercraftjournal.com/video-all-about-yamahas-visibility-spout-how-to-disengage-it/.

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

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

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

Yamaha Visibility Spout

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