To the uninformed, it may appear that not much is going on in Trenton, New Jersey, other than the state legislature looking for ways to close the budget gap. Truth be told, Trenton is home to not one, not two, but three Pork Roll Festivals because one of Trenton’s claims to fame is that the Pork Roll was invented in 1856 by Trentonian John Taylor.
A beef broke out between two competing pork roll festivals. It developed into a food fight when the organizer of the "Trenton Pork Roll Festival 2015" received a cease-and-desist letter from a lawyer for the "Official 2nd Annual Pork Roll Festival." It appears that T.C. Nelson and Scott Miller were once partners in the Trenton Pork Roll Festival, but they had a parting of the ways and each set up his own Pork Roll Festival.
Mr. Nelson’s company, Pork Roll Productions LLC, filed a trademark application for “Pork Roll Festival” on March 15, after which Mr. Miller’s attorney served a piping hot, fresh-off-the-grill, cease and desist order on Mr. Miller. Next on the menu? A hot dispute at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office over who actually first used the term “Pork Roll Festival” as that will determine who gets issued the trademark.
Oh, that third Pork Roll Festival? Say hello to the Trenton Vegan Pork Roll Festival.