WASHINGTON - Mars Inc., maker of M&M's candies, argued before the Supreme Court today that customers often mistakenly affiliate the name of its most famous product, "M&M", with that of the rap group, "Eminem".  

This, combined with the fact that the biggest buyers M&M's candies are parents who have expressed an extreme distaste for rap music, has, they said, mistakenly led buyers to believe that, when purchasing the candy, they are feeding money directly to the rap music industry.  This has, they concluded, resulted in decreased corporate sales of M&Ms since the music group's inception, and, as a result, the rap group should be forced to change its name.

Without trademark protection, said the attorney representing the candy-maker heavyweight, the name "M&M" could be used in hundreds of similar sounding ways, thus lessening the "unique, singular" quality of the product name.

"There needs to be objective evidence that the public will confuse the disputed mark with that of another, more famous mark" said the lawyer representing the rap group.  He added that "People confusing the name 'Eminem' with that of the candy, are guilty of illiteracy, for the name of the candy should be pronounced 'M and M', not 'M 'n M'."

At issue is the federal Trademark Dilution Act, which gives protection to holders of a famous trademark.

Eminem has also, outside the courtroom, expressed an interest in sponsoring television commercials for the candy.  In the ads, they say, famous M&M characters would sing and dance to rap music sung by the group.

The case is M&M vs Eminem.

Field Reporter Dengle Barry reporting for News2me

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