You Say Twelve Inches, I Say Footlong
How long have people been using the term "footlong?" A national restaurant is now claiming that it's their term.
When I was growing up, we would go to a restaurant called Earl's Drive-In in Chaffee, NY to get a footlong. It was a hotdog and it was 12 inches long. That was 25 years ago for me and I know that it was being used long before that.
But now there's a new lawsuit on the books, after another company was threatened with legal action over the term "footlong." Subway Restaurants allegedly sent a cease and desist letter to Casey's General Stores Inc. telling them to stop using the term in their advertising because they've applied for a trademark on it. Casey's then turned the tables on Subway and has filed a lawsuit against them.
Granted, Subway uses the term a lot. They've made it famous. It's even got a catchy little song to go along with it. But just because you use something a lot doesn't make it yours. I mean, lots of people use the bus everyday. You don't see them telling other people that they can't ride the bus too right? I use the internet daily. But I'd never try to say that I was the one who made it famous. I mean, as long as 12 inches is a foot, anything that's 12 inches long should be able to be called a footlong. Right??