Magic Mushrooms!

‘Psilocybin’ is a naturally occurring psychedelic substance which is present in nearly 200 mushrooms. The consumption of these mushrooms leads to hallucinations that usually last for about 6 hours and the taste of the naturally occurring Psilocybin is bitter and unpalatable. Recently a California based chocolate company viz., Black Panda filed an application for the mark ‘Psilocybin’ with the USPTO for chocolates. Their website can be accessed at https://www.psilocybinchocolate.com/. The chocolates, now known as ‘Psilocybin’ does not contain any trace of the psychedelic substance. Thus, the name is deceptive and a false trade description. Any person who is conversant with the true qualities of the ‘Psilocybin’ is likely to believe that the chocolates will provide the same psychedelic effect that is provided by ‘Psilocybin’, on the other hand, a person who has consumed the chocolates first, may consume magic mushrooms believing them to be chocolates. Of course areas/shops of the availability of the 2 are majorly distinct. A similar issue had cropped up with the mark ‘Black Magic’ which was originally a brand name for a cookie but later a pharmaceutical company adopted the same mark for a laxative thus creating confusion.

The USPTO has granted registration for the wordmark ‘Psilocybin’ bearing registration no. 5963651 on January 14, 2020.