Is it pronounced gif or jif? The pronunciation war over the .gif file extension heated up in a big way today.
The J.M. Smucker Company announced a reverse class action lawsuit this morning against “any and all web developers or graphic designers on planet earth” who pronounce the file extension .gif with a soft ‘g.’ At a press conference, company spokesperson François ‘Chunky’ LeGumes said the entire company has been increasingly frustrated with “…idiots who can’t pronounce anything right.”
LeGumes went on to say “Jif is a registered trademark of of the J.M. Smucker Company and a darn fine peanut butter at that. We will not stand idly by while Silicon Valley elites smoothly create confusion about our products.” He did not provide a clear answer as to how similar pronunciations for a food product and a file extension might lead consumers astray, saying that “lid will be opened in the courtroom.”
When asked how they would locate such a large and varied population of individuals to serve them with legal papers, the Smucker’s spokesman responded “There can’t be more than 500 of these ‘web designers’ in the United States and far fewer in other nations. Making even the simplest homepage (sic) is basically computer science and it’s very hard; we will identify them quite easily. It’s not like we’re looking for people you can find on any corner, like pediatric neurosurgeons.”
James Pegmiller, a prominent trademark attorney in Boston, indicated the company may be in for a tough legal battle. Pegmiller said “I kind of understand where they are coming from, but I think this case will grind on for a while and could easily spread company resources thin.”
The company plans to file suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.
