Home/Fifth Circuit/Falcon Rice Mill, Inc. v. Community Rice Mill, Inc. And James Vidrine

Falcon Rice Mill, Inc. v. Community Rice Mill, Inc. And James Vidrine

725 F.2d 336, 222 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 197, 1984 U.S. App. LEXIS 25295
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit·Decided February 21, 1984·No. 82-4451·Published·Cited by 73 cases

Opinion

WISDOM, Circuit Judge:

Falcon Rice Mill (Falcon) brought this suit, alleging that the defendants, Community Rice Mill (Community) and James Vid-rine, were guilty of unfair competition and trade dress infringement. 1 Falcon sought to recover damages and to enjoin the defendants from using certain trade dress for their rice. After trial the district court denied the injunction and dismissed all claims on the ground that Falcon had not established a likelihood of confusion. We affirm.

*338 I.

Falcon, located in Crowley, Louisiana, is the successor of Rice City Milling Co., Inc. Rice City marketed, and Falcon continues to market, its rice in Louisiana and Texas using a variety of packages, including the three packages at issue here. 2

Falcon sells “HOME COUNTRY” medium grain rice in a white or brown paper bag (Fig. 1). On the front of the bag, in the center, is a large rectangular drawing, in green, brown, and white, of a plantation house shaded by a large, moss-laden oak tree. Above this drawing are the words “HOME COUNTRY” in large green capital letters. Below the picture are the words “OLD FASHIONED MEDIUM GRAIN” in smaller black capital letters, the word “RICE” in green capital letters, and the name and address of the mill and the net weight of the package, in black capital letters. On the sides of the package, the legend “HOME COUNTRY OLD FASHIONED MEDIUM GRAIN RICE” is repeated in green and black letters.

*339 Fig. 1

*340 Falcon also sells medium grain rice under the “ED’S” label (Fig. 2). 3 This rice is sold in clear plastic bags. In the center of the bag is-a map, in dark blue, of the State of Louisiana. The word “LOUISIANA” in white capital letters runs diagonally across the state. A white star and the word “CROWLEY” indicate the location of the mill. Wavy red and white lines below the state represent the Gulf of Mexico. To the left of the northwest corner of the map is the word “ED’S” in red letters on a white background. To the right appears the legend “EXTRA FANCY MEDIUM GRAIN” in blue capital letters, the word “rice” in large white lower case letters outlined in red and white, and the net weight in small blue capitals. The legend “ED’S EXTRA FANCY MEDIUM GRAIN RICE” is repeated in red, blue, and white on the sides.

Fig. 2

Falcon sells long grain, or Toro, rice in white paper bags (Fig. 3). The word “TORO”, in large orange or red capital letters, appears within a blue oval. Below this, also in orange or red capitals, are the words “LONG GRAIN RICE”, the name and address of the mill superimposed on a blue band, and the net weight. “TORO LONG GRAIN RICE” appears on the sides and bottom of the package, again with the word «T0R0» within a blue oval<

*341

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Falcon Rice Mill, Inc. v. Community Rice Mill, Inc. And James Vidrine, 725 F.2d 336, 222 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 197, 1984 U.S. App. LEXIS 25295 (5th Cir. 1984).

725 F.2d 336 (Falcon Rice Mill, Inc. v. Community Rice Mill, Inc. And James Vidrine) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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