Cloverdale Spring Co. v. Clover Club Bottling Co.

99 F. Supp. 356, 90 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 135, 1951 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4099
CourtDistrict Court, D. Rhode Island
DecidedJune 28, 1951
DocketCiv. No. 972
StatusPublished

This text of 99 F. Supp. 356 (Cloverdale Spring Co. v. Clover Club Bottling Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cloverdale Spring Co. v. Clover Club Bottling Co., 99 F. Supp. 356, 90 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 135, 1951 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4099 (D.R.I. 1951).

Opinion

HARTIGAN, Circuit Judge.1

This is an action for infringement of. federally registered trade-marks and for unfair competition. The alleged infringement involves trade-mark No. 302878 for a pictorial representation of a four leaf clover registered May 2, 1933, by the plaintiff and trade-mark No. 120016 for the word “Cloverdale” registered by the plaintiff’s predecessors in business January 1, 1918 and renewed 'by the plaintiff January 1, 1938.

Jurisdiction of this court is alleged to depend on Title 15 U.S.C.A. §§ 1114 to 1118, 1121, and Title 28 U.S.C. § 1338.

The plaintiff, a Maryland corporation, was incorporated February 20, 1922 and has its principal place of business in Baltimore. The defendant, a Rhode Island corporation, was incorporated March 1, 1947 and has its principal place of business in Providence. Both corporations are engaged in the manufacture and sale of non-alcoholic beverages.

Both of the plaintiff’s trade-marks have been used continuously by it since the date of its incorporation in February, 1922 to and including the present time and by its predecessors in business for a great many years prior thereto, probably as far 'back as 1887. They were first used on mineral water and later on non-alcoholic beverages.

The plaintiff markets all of its products under the “Cloverdale” name and four leaf clover mark.

For the period from 1922 to 1948 the plaintiff made expenditures aggregating upwards of $750,000 for advertising; $589,000 for promotional production bearing the trade-marks and its total sales aggregated approximately $13,550,000.

[358]*358During the years between 1922 and 1948, the plaintiff’s shipments covered from 2 to 17 states, including the New England States, and shipments were made in 1927 to Puerto Rico and in 1932 to the Canal Zone.

The plaintiff’s peak advertising expenditure was reached in the year 1929 in the amount of $100,000 or more and was in the form of radio, newspaper, magazine, postcard, trade journal, window display advertising, etc. The radio advertising was done over stations in Baltimore, Maryland; Springfield and Boston, Massachusetts; Richmond, Virginia and New York. In 1938 some advertising was done in a nationally distributed magazine called “Hygeia”. S. S. Pierce & Company of Boston advertised the plaintiff’s products in its catalogue “The Epicure” between 1935 and 1940.

A salesman for the plaintiff covered Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island territories between the years 1928 and 1933, and in 1929 sold about 5 carloads of plaintiff’s products in Rhode Island.

The total aggregate sales of the plaintiff in Rhode Island amounted to about $7,500; in Connecticut $49,500; in Massachusetts $40,200; in Maine $19,800; in New Hampshire $35,400 and in Vermont $21,600.

The plaintiff made its last sales in Maine in 1936; Massachusetts, 1942; Rhode Island, 1933 and Vermont in 1947. The plaintiff made'no sales in Rhode Island in 1930 and in 1931 made sales totalling only $274.28. The greatest amount of sales in Rhode Island was in 1929 and totalled about $7,200.

The plaintiff shipped its products from its Newville, Pennsylvania, plant to wholesalers. It has never issued a franchise to a 'bottler in Rhode Island. It has no record of advertising or promotional sale expenses in Rhode Island. Plaintiff stopped its promotional efforts in New England around 1932 and sales in that area since then were repeat orders which were made without solicitation on the part of the plaintiff.

On April 21, 1931, the president of the plaintiff corporation wrote a letter to the Chairman of the Board of Food and Drug Commissioners of Rhode Island. This letter was in response to the Chairman’s demand that the plaintiff apply for a bottler’s permit to sell its products in Rhode Island. Plaintiff’s president stated in part:

“We have not made any sales in the State of Rhode Island since December 1929, jfc % %

“Should we secure any additional business in your state, we assure you we will have no objection to filling out your application.”

On April 5, 1933, the plaintiff wrote another letter to said Chairman and stated:

“ * * * we do not ship any goods into Rhode Island, why should we take out a permit?

“We haven’t made a shipment to Rhode Island for more than a year and do not have a single customer there so far as we know.”

The plaintiff was never registered in Rhode Island as a domestic or foreign corporation.

The plaintiff and its predecessors never advertised in Rhode Island newspapers nor on billboards and never sponsored any radio broadcasts originating in Rhode Island.

On November 15, 1948, an investigator hired by plaintiff’s attorney wrote to the defendant a letter in which he stated:

“I am interested in probably opening up several places in Providence and possibly Boston, and dispensing soft drinks, and I would therefore appreciate knowing what beverages you bottle for such use and also some prices and details.

“Also, in order that I may be better acquainted with your product, will you be so kind as to include with your reply a few specimens of your labels.”

On November 19, 1948, the defendant sent said investigator samples of its beverages gratis.

On January 6, 1949, the investigator wrote a letter to the defendant acknowledging his thanks for the samples and stated: “The samples which you sent I took with me up to Rhode Island, but I now desire to purchase from you one large sized bottle each of orange soda, grape [359]*359soda and if possible ginger ale. Also, one small sized bottle each of orange soda, grape soda and cream soda. Would you please ship these to me here (New York) with a bill, for which I will promptly remit.”

On January 17, 1949, the investigator wrote to the defendant 'acknowledging receipt of the beverages ordered in his letter of January 6th and stated: “And I would now like to have you send me your invoice so that I may remit by check in full.”

On January 18, 1949, the defendant wrote the investigator: “I wish to inform you that as the Clover Club beverages we sent to you were samples of our beverages there will be no charge for the same. If this does not meet with your approval will you please inform us as to this effect?”

On January 20, 1949, the investigator wrote to the defendant: “I thank you very much for your letter of January 18th and I would prefer to pay for the samples as I would not like to take them without paying for them.”

On January 21, 1949, the investigator wrote to the defendant:

“Please disregard my letter of the 20th instant as I want to buy some other bottles from you.

“In other words, I want you to ship me as soon as possible two cases of assorted flavors, 32 ounce size, and two cases of assorted flavors, 8 ounce size.”

On January 21, 1949, the defendant billed the investigator for six bottles of its beverages amounting to sixty-two cents.

On January 22, 1949, the investigator wrote to the defendant:

“Please hold up the shipment referred to in my letter of the 21st instant until further word from me.”

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Bluebook (online)
99 F. Supp. 356, 90 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 135, 1951 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4099, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cloverdale-spring-co-v-clover-club-bottling-co-rid-1951.