Judge Halts Payments to NPPC for Pork Trademark and Logo

A federal judge in Washington ruled Thursday that the National Pork Board should stop sending annual payments to the trade group National Pork Producers Council for use of the trademark and the logo design for “Pork. The Other White Meat.”The pork board has 15 members appointed by the USDA secretary and administers the pork checkoff program. In 2006, the board agreed to buy the trademarks for about $34.6 million, by paying $3 million a year for 20 years. The nonprofit group Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) sued to challenge the decision to approve the board’s purchase of trademarks. According to the ruling, 30 percent of the NPPC's budget comes from the contract.