Pike Place Fish Market (PPFM), the iconic fresh seafood market inside Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., is facing a trademark infringement lawsuit.
The Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority (PDA), which manages the market, claims PPFM is illicitly using its name to advertise products nationwide without PDA’s permission.
In a lawsuit filed in early September via the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, PDA alleges PPFM has breached its lease agreement by illegally using the market’s name to market smoked salmon products across the country. The PDA also contends that PPFM is using the name in an illegal non-market enterprise to accommodate its mail-order business.
PPFM, known for its fishmongers who throw fish back and forth to one another in front of throngs of visitors, has long been one of the main tourist draws for the Pike Place Market, which opened in 1907.
In 2018, a group of longtime Pike Place employees purchased the 90-year-old business from John Yokoyama, who ran the stand after buying it from the original owners in 1965.
In leases signed by Yokoyama in 1996 and again in 2010, PPFM agreed it would not use the name outside of the Pike Place Market Historical District without written permission from the PDA. The new owners – Anders Miller, Ryan Reese, Sam Samson, and Jaison Scott – signed a lease with the same stipulations in 2018, according to the lawsuit.
In 2021, PPFM executives approached the PDA about possibly operating fulfillment and shipping operations offsite.
“The PDA was open to working with PPFM regarding potential operations outside the market but sought to understand PPFM’s plans – not least [of which] how PPFM intended to use the Pike Place name for this activity,” the complaint said.
PPFM refused to explain its plans and, instead, insisted it could use the Pike Place name outside of the Pike Place Market Historical District “however it pleased,” PDA claims.
In June 2021, PPFM dropped its request to initiate out-of-market operations, and in September of that year, it signed another lease with the PDA for additional space within the Pike Place Market, according to the complaint.
However, in early 2023, PPFM again demanded that the PDA agree to its desired use of the Pike Place name outside of the market, PDA contends.
On 26 July, PPFM filed a petition with the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board seeking to cancel certain PDA trademarks. At that time, PPFM again refused to say how they would use the Pike Place trademark, according to the PDA and refused the PDA’s proposal of pre-filing mediation.
“It is only now clear what was going on. The PDA recently discovered that while it was working in good faith to understand how PPFM wanted to use the Pike Place name outside the market … PPFM was embarking on an undisclosed major distribution program to sell smoked salmon products in chain grocery stores,” the complaint said.
Packaging for the PPFM salmon products – on sale at QFC grocery stores in Seattle – includes the phrase “Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market, therefore “explicitly leveraging” its association with the market and its shared history and convincing consumers to buy the product by emphasizing its association with the market, according to the PDA.
Executives from the PDA and PPFM did not respond to SeafoodSource’s requests for comment.
However, the PDA wants “to ensure that the Pike Place name continues to stand for everything that makes the market authentic and that the Pike Place name isn’t slapped onto products that undermine the Market’s integrity and reputation,” according to a statement attained by the Seattle Times.
In addition to trademark infringement, the PDA claims breach of contract and several other violations.
“This case is about protecting Pike Place Market as a defining local landmark and cultural institution for the people of Seattle and its visitors. The City of Seattle established Pike Place Market in 1907 as a unique place where local farmers and producers could gather to sell directly to shoppers,” the complaint said. “That Pike Place Market has been a significant and symbolic place in this city for over a century is without question.”
The Pike Place Market features more than 500 small businesses – including bakers, cheesemongers, farmers, restaurateurs, and artisans, among many others. Market businesses have been able to use their location “to have instant access to nearly constant customer foot traffic and to be a part of what uniquely draws people to the market,” the PDA said. “And the market, in turn, has supported its businesses and wants them to succeed.”
Both sides have agreed to a mediation session scheduled for October 2023.
Photo courtesy of Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority
