Johnsonville asks court to reopen trademark infringement suit
By Charles Rathmann, of SBT
Johnsonville Sausage LLC has asked the Eastern District US Circuit Court to reopen a trademark infringement suit it had filed against a New Jersey sausage maker.
The suit, filed in June of last year, sought injunctive relief and damages against Hawthorne, N.J.-based Premio Foods, which had recently changed its name from Garden State Sausage, Inc.
The new name, which appears on Premio’s Italian sausage products, and the accompanying trade dress are too similar to that of Johnsonville’s own Primo Italian sausage product, the complaint alleged.
The civil complaint also claimed that cooking instructions and accompanying illustrations on the Premio label were copies from Johnsonville’s own label. The case was closed for administrative purposes after being referred to Judge Janine Geske for mediation on June 24 of 2002.
But a letter sent by Johnsonville’s attorneys to the court Sept. 22 asked the case be reopened as the two parties were unable to reach an agreement.
"Johnsonville is of the opinion that the differing views of the parties and the language of the stipulation makes it clear that there was not and is not any meeting of the minds as to a final settlement of the present dispute," the letter stated.
Johnsonville has sold sausage under the Primo name since 1965. Garden State changed its name in April of 2000. To consult on the name change, the company brought in Ries & Ries Focusing Consultants, the branding agency headed by well-known marketing and advertising author Al Ries and his daughter Laura Ries.
"We can’t comment on what we suggested or didn’t suggest," Al Ries said. "We did recommend they change their name. As far as the name they chose, it was not our name, nor did we recommend it."
Neither Marc Cinque, president of Premio Foods, or Tom Wolf, director of marketing at Johnsonville, returned calls regarding the dispute.
Premio’s counsel, Sam Littlepage of Washington D.C.-based Dickinson-Wright, said Premio is not interested in changing its name, and does not think the court will order it to do so. Littlepage claimed Johnsonville used the Primo name only in military Px’es, and said Johnsonville admitted there was no lost sales or confusion among consumers caused by use of the Premio name.
Johnsonville is represented by a team of lawyers from Godfrey & Kahn, Milwaukee, including Brian Gilpin, William Baxter and Adam Brookman. Premio has retained Barbara O’Brien and Ted Tornehl of Borgelt Powell Peterson & Frauen as their Wisconsin counsel.
Oct. 11, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
