MINNEAPOLIS (MCT) – Four letters are causing a stir among some of the country’s largest grocery chains.

Supervalu Inc. and the National Grocers Association are fighting efforts by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to trademark “EDLP,” an acronym for its “Every Day Low Prices” strategy. Last week they asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to reject Wal-Mart’s application.

They argued that EDLP is a marketing tool used by retailers throughout the country and that no single company has the right to use it to the exclusion of the rest of the industry, according to filings with the federal agency. Supervalu said it has used the wording “Every Day Low Price” in connection with its grocery stores since 1984.

Granting the trademark would unfairly restrict “everyone else’s ability to market and advertise their goods and services,” the grocers’ group said in a statement.

John Simley, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, said the company wanted to trademark the acronym to prevent others from using it. The company already has trademarked hundreds of slogans and images, including “Always Low Prices. Always.” and a design for “Ol’ Roy,” Wal-Mart’s store brand of dog food.

“We plan to pursue the application as it’s written,” Simley said.

Under federal law, generic terms can’t be trademarked, no matter how well known the term might be.