American Beverage Corp. v. Diageo North America, Inc.

936 F. Supp. 2d 555, 2013 WL 1314598, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43932
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 28, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 12-601
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 936 F. Supp. 2d 555 (American Beverage Corp. v. Diageo North America, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American Beverage Corp. v. Diageo North America, Inc., 936 F. Supp. 2d 555, 2013 WL 1314598, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43932 (W.D. Pa. 2013).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

CONTI, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Pending before the court is the Motion for Preliminary Injunction (ECF No. 8) and brief in support (ECF No. 9) filed on May 7, 2012.by plaintiffs-American Beverage Corporation (“ABC”) and Pouch Pac Innovations, LLC (“PPi”) (collectively “plaintiffs”) ¿gainst defendants Diageo North America, Inc. and Diageo Americas Supply, Inc. (collectively “defendants” or “Diageo”). On June 8, 2012, defendants filed their response in opposition to plaintiffs’ motion (ECF No. 37) and brief in support (ECF No. 51.) Plaintiffs filed a reply brief on June 25, 2012. (ECF No. 54.) Plaintiffs’ complaint (ECF No. 1) and the present motion ■ (both filed the same day) allege that frozen cocktail products produced by defendants under the PARROT BAY and SMIRNOFF brand names infringe the design patent and trade dress utilized in frozen cocktail products produced by plaintiffs under the DAILY’S brand name. Specifically with respect to the patent infringement claim, plaintiffs allege that the pouches used by Parrot Bay and Smirnoff for their frozen cocktail products (individually the “Parrot Bay pouch” and the “Smirnoff pouch” and collectively the “Diageo pouches”) infringe United States Design Patent No. D 571,-672 (the “'672 patent”), which is exclusively licensed to ABC by PPi.

Following an expedited discovery period, the court held an evidentiary hearing on August 14, 15, 16, and 22, 2012 during which evidence was admitted and testimony from several witnesses was presented. Testimony was heard from: (1) R. Charles Murray (“Murray”) (the inventor of the '672 patent); (2) Timothy Barr (“Barr”) (ABC’s vice president of marketing and strategy); (3) Ian Lander (“Lander”) (senior vice president of client services at directive analytics); (4) Michael Ward (‘Ward”) (Diageo’s senior vice president for innovation in North America); (5) Travis Funk (“Funk”) (a scientist for Diageo’s [568]*568innovation team) (6) Dr. Robert Kimmel (“Kimmel”) (defendants’ technical expert); and (7) Nicholas Mesiti (“Mesiti”) (plaintiffs’ patent expert). The court ordered the parties to file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law by September 27, 2012. The matter now being ripe for disposition, the court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

II. FINDINGS OF FACT1

A. The Parties

1. Plaintiffs

1. ABC is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Verona, Pennsylvania. (ECF No. 1 ¶ 1.)

2. PPi is a Florida limited liability company with its principal place of business in Sarasota, Florida. (Id. ¶ 2.)

2. Defendants

3. Diageo North America, Inc. is a Connecticut corporation with its principal place of business in Norwalk, Connecticut. (Id. ¶ 3.)

4. Diageo Americas Supply, Inc. is a New York Corporation with its principal place of business in Norwalk, Connecticut. (Id. ¶ 4.)

B. The Daily’s Cocktails

1. Pouch Development and the '672 Patent

5. In 2005, ABC sought to develop a ten-ounce, single-serve ready-to-drink (“RTD”) frozen cocktail product in a flexible foil pouch to be sold under its Daily’s brand name. (Aug. 14 Tr. at 147-48.)

6. PPi initially provided ABC designs for two different pouches, Exhibits 31 and 32, which were used by ABC for its Daily’s frozen cocktails for short periods respectively, in 2005 and 2006. (Id. at 151-52.)

7. ABC wanted its frozen cocktail products to be packaged in a unique and distinctive flexible pouch. (Id. at 148-49.)

8. ABC contacted PPi’s owner, Murray, to create and develop a pouch for its Daily’s frozen cocktail products. (Id. at 50.)

9. ABC reviewed more than a dozen possible pouch designs over the course of approximately eighteen months in the process of developing its package design. (Id. at 50, 59,151-52.)

10. Ultimately, PPi produced a new pouch design for the Daily’s pouches, which ABC has used for the Daily’s frozen cocktail products since 2007. (Id. at 151.)

11. Murray’s pouch design for ABC is allegedly embodied in the '672 patent. (Id. at 60-61, 67); (Ex. A).

12. Murray assigned the '672 patent to PPi, which in turn licensed it exclusively to ABC. (Ex. B; Ex. C.)

2. The Daily’s Frozen Cocktail Products’ Appearance

13. The appearance of the Daily’s frozen cocktail products is generally consistent across all the flavors offered by ABC. (Ex. 146 (Frozen Peach Daiquiri); Ex. 147 (Frozen Pina Colada); Ex. 148 (Frozen Margarita); Ex. 149 (Frozen Lemonade); Ex. 150 (Frozen Pomegranate Acai Margarita); Ex. 151 (Frozen Mojito)).

14. The Daily’s frozen cocktail products are sold in pouches which all have a generally hourglass shape when viewed from the [569]*569front, a wedge shape when viewed from the side, and a lenticular shape when viewed from the bottom. (Id.)

15. The graphic treatments on the packaging for the Daily’s frozen cocktail products include three general areas. (Ex. 151.) The topmost portion contains the words “FREEZE AND ENJOY” on a solid background in a color that generally corresponds to the flavor of the beverage (e.g. green for mojito, red for strawberry, etc.). (Id.) The large central portion contains a black rectangle with the words “DAILY’S READY TO DRINK” in silver at the top. (Id.) Below the black rectangle are the words “ALCOHOL IS IN IT!” printed above and just to the right of the central imagery on the package. (Id.) The central imagery (also in the central portion) is an image of a glass containing a colored liquid, surrounded by garnishes, both of which generally correspond to the flavor of the beverage (e.g., a peach-colored liquid surrounded by peach wedges). (Ex. 146.) The garnishes are depicted swirling around and splashing into the glass itself. (Id.) The images of the glass and the fruit, as well as the text related to alcohol are all presented over a background of a “swirl” pattern of two colors: one color is always white, while the other color is generally dictated by the flavor of the beverage, i.e. green for margarita and mojito, peach for peach, yellow for pina colada, etc. (Ex. 146; Ex. 147; Ex. 151.) The frozen lemonade “swirl” pattern is blue and white. (Ex. 149.) The bottommost band, below the central imagery, contains the name of the beverage, i.e. “Frozen Mojito.” (Ex. 151.) Text at the bottom of the package includes the alcohol content information, the volume of the pouch, and the words “AMERICA’S PREMIUM BRAND” in white text on a black background (Ex. 146; Ex. 147; Ex. 148; Ex. 149; Ex. 150; Ex. 151.)

C. The Smirnoff and Parrot Bay Frozen Cocktail Products

1. Diageo Product Development

16. Diageo, the world’s largest liquor manufacturer, noticed the rapid expansion of the RTD frozen pouch market segment as a result of the Daily’s frozen cocktail products and sought to enter the market in approximately December 2010 or January 2011. (Aug. 15 Tr. at 210-13.)

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936 F. Supp. 2d 555, 2013 WL 1314598, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43932, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-beverage-corp-v-diageo-north-america-inc-pawd-2013.