Okay, we know that Pons & Carpano filed for patents on the Mitchell Spinning Reel (later to be designated as the Mitchell 300) in France on 28-Jul-1948 and in Great Britain on 3-Aug-1948, but not ever the US.
It should, however, be noted that Otto S. Gumprich/Charles Garcia filed for a registered US trademark on 28-Aug-1951 on “the Mitchell Spinning Reel” (see below). Later, Garcia trademarked the Mitchell name alone in the cursive style and then block text (see below).
According to blogs by several different trademark lawyers, the date most relevant to US trademark protection is the date of first use in commerce (this takes precedence over the application date). Use in commerce is defined as the mark being associated with a product that is sold or transported across state lines. Advertising, for example in a magazine, does not count towards this. Documentation of first use in commerce must be provided to USPTO (US Patent and Trademark Office) by the applicant, in order to make that claim.
First use in commerce documented to USPTO of the mark, “the Mitchell Spinning Reel”, was Nov-1948. This, however, does not mean the Mitchell Reel was not sold earlier in the US.
John
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