Esso (Eastern States Standard Oil) is an international trade name for ExxonMobil
and its related companies. It is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard
Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction
in the United States; although other sources suggest that "Esso" is a spelt
version of the pronunciation of the initials for Standard Oil. In 1973, it was
largely replaced in the U.S. by the Exxon brand, while Esso remained widely
used elsewhere. In most of the world, the Esso brand and the Mobil brand are the
primary brand names of ExxonMobil, with the Exxon brand name still in use only
in parts of the United States.
In 1911, Standard Oil was broken up
into seven regional companies, each with the rights to the brand "Standard" in
certain states (plus a number of other companies that had no territorial rights).
Standard Oil of New Jersey ("Jersey Standard") had the rights in that state,
plus in Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and
the District of Columbia. By 1941, it had also acquired the rights in Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Louisiana. In those states, it marketed
its products under the brand "Esso", the phonetic pronunciation of the letters
"S" and "O". It also used the Esso brand in New York and the six New England
states, where the Standard Oil Company of New York (Mobil) had the rights, but
did not object to the New Jersey company's use of the trademark (the two companies
did not merge until 1998). However, in the other states, the other Standard
Oil companies objected and forced Jersey Standard to use other brand names. In
most states the company used the trademark "Enco", and in a few "Humble". The
other Standard companies likewise were "Standard" or some variant on that in their
home states, and another brand name in other states.
This situation
was confusing to travelers. In 1972, Standard Oil of New Jersey renamed itself
as the Exxon Corporation, and adopted that trademark throughout the country.
It however maintained the rights to "Standard" and "Esso" in the states where
it held those rights, by a token effort, by selling "Esso Diesel" in those states
at stations that sell diesel fuel, thus preventing the trademark from being
declared abandoned. |
