TODAY’S TRADEARK – JACK PURCELL

This mark is named after John Edward “Jack” Purcell who was a Canadian world champion badminton player. Purcell was the Canadian National Badminton Champion in 1929 and 1930 and was declared as world champion in 1933. He retired in 1945, and pursued a career as a stockbroker. Jack Purcell designed a low, bleached-white canvas-and-rubber badminton sneaker for the B.F. Goodrich Company, also known as PF Flyers in the year 1935. The shoe is famous since it provided better support on badminton courts because of a steel shank embedded in its heel. The shoe was so well known that everyone from the youngest learner to professional and amateur tennis stars on the international tour wore Purcell sneakers; no other company made them. In 1972, Converse purchased PF Flyers, along with the trademark rights of Jack Purcell sneakers 

The trademark for the shoe was registered in USPTO bearing registration number 0583097 on December 1, 1953.