Consalo Family Farms LLC., filed a complaint against William H. Kopke Jr. Inc., seeking declaratory judgment that they have not infringed on the defendant’s trademarks under the Declaratory Judgment Act and the Lanham Act. The plaintiff seeks a ruling that their “Little Smoochies” citrus product does not infringe on Kopke’s trademark for “sweetums.”
The plaintiff sells a line of citrus fruit under the trademark “Little Smoochies” displayed on the packaging with cartoon fruits with “smooch” marks on their faces, the complaint explained. The plaintiff has applied and obtained a U.S. trademark registration. The defendant did not oppose the plaintiff’s application for trademark in the allotted time, the plaintiff added.
According to the complaint, the defendant has engaged in repeated threats of formal legal action over the plaintiff’s trademark. However, according to the complaint, the trademarks are rather dissimilar: the lettering used is blatantly different, and while the “sweetums” cartoon fruits wear sunglasses and the “Little Smoochies” fruits wear eyeglasses, there is a market-wide trend of cartoon-fruits in eyewear. The cartoon style also differs.
The plaintiff seeks entries of orders declaring that “Little Smoochies” does not infringe or dilute the “sweetums” trademark, an entry of an order enjoining Kopke from threatening to assert the “sweetums” mark against the plaintiff, as well as an award of reasonable costs and attorney’s fees.
The plaintiff is represented by DLA Piper LLP.