National Biscuit Co$.$ v$.$ Kellogg Co$.$

In this case, National Biscuit Co$.$ filed suit against Kellogg Co$.$ over their sale of shredded wheat cereal. According to National Biscuit Co$.,$ Kellogg$$s manufacture and sale of this product constituted unfair competition and trademark violation, since the previous iteration of their company had been owned by the inventor of shredded wheat and the machinery used to make it$,$ although the patents on both inventions had been allowed to expire. Kellogg Co$.$ countered with the argument that National Biscuit$$s suit amounted to an attempt to monopolize the market on shredded wheat. Ultimately, the US Supreme Court ruled that $$shredded wheat$$ was not a trademarkable term and its design was a functional one, and thus free for copying since the trademark had expired.