The rights to The Krusty Krab, the underwater restaurant featured in the popular children’s TV series “SpongeBob SquarePants,” belong to Viacom Inc. and not to a Texas restaurateur hoping to open a seafood chain with that name.
On Tuesday, Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 that Viacom deserves trademark protection for The Krusty Krab, and that Javier Ramos and his company IJR cannot use it for their restaurants.
While Viacom had not registered “The Krusty Krab” with the U.S.