Kodiak Cakes LLC v. Cont'l Mills, Inc.

358 F. Supp. 3d 1219
CourtDistrict Court, D. Utah
DecidedJanuary 18, 2019
DocketCase No. 2:18-CV-783 TS
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 358 F. Supp. 3d 1219 (Kodiak Cakes LLC v. Cont'l Mills, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kodiak Cakes LLC v. Cont'l Mills, Inc., 358 F. Supp. 3d 1219 (D. Utah 2019).

Opinion

Ted Stewart, United States District Judge

This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction.

*1225For the reasons set forth below, the Court will grant the Motion.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Kodiak Cakes LLC ("Plaintiff) is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Park City, Utah. Since 1982, Plaintiff has manufactured and sold high protein, whole grain pancake mix, among other products. In 2014, following some media attention, Plaintiff experienced significant growth in its commercial success. Plaintiff is now a major competitor within the pancake mix industry, and its products are sold at health food stores and major retailers such as Walmart and Target.

Plaintiff's packaging is pictured below.

The packaging on the left was distributed and sold beginning in 2014 and the packaging on the right is the most recently designed packaging. Both versions are currently being sold.

Plaintiff claims its protected trade dress consists of the following unique elements: "a kraft box featuring a distinctive tan, red, black, and white color scheme characterized by: a light tan background color offset by a bold, full bleed black border; alternating use of serif and sans serif fonts; standout appearance of reference to 'Protein Packed' and 'Whole Grains.' "1

Defendant Continental Mills, Inc. ("Defendant") is a Washington corporation with its principal place of business in Tukwila, Washington. Under the brand "Krusteaz," Defendant also manufactures and sells pancake mix, among other products, and has done so for 86 years. Defendant's Krusteaz-branded pancake mix is sold at major retailers throughout the United States. Krusteaz pancake mix is generally packaged in a high-gloss box featuring a large image of a stack of pancakes and a Krusteaz logo in red across the top of the box. An image of its original protein pancake mix product is shown below.

In June 2018, upon "seeing changes in the pancake mix market and after conducting its own research,"2 Defendant opted to redesign its protein pancake mix product. "It conducted focus groups, tested different formulae, and analyzed market data, including considering the strengths and weaknesses of the protein pancake mix market leader, Kodiak."3 At the conclusion of its market research, Defendant put the following box design into production.

*1226After Defendant put this design into production, Defendant continued its research and decided it would eventually design a different packaging that would "properly account for its consumer research."4 However, before Defendant could implement a different design, Plaintiff contacted Defendant to inform Defendant that it believes their current packaging infringes Plaintiff's trade dress. Following communications between the parties, Defendant accelerated its redesign plan and has agreed to cease shipping products with the current packaging by January 31, 2019.

Plaintiff filed suit in this Court on October 10, 2018, for trade dress infringement in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1125, among other causes of action. Plaintiff filed the Motion for Preliminary Injunction now before the Court on November 2, 2018, seeking an order enjoining Defendant from "[c]ontinuing to sell, advertise, or promote any product using the infringing packaging, or using any packaging that is otherwise confusingly similar to the Kodiak Trade Dress."5 This includes a recall of all of the offending products by a date to be determined by the Court.

II. DISCUSSION

To obtain a preliminary injunction, the moving party must demonstrate: "(1) a likelihood of success on the merits; (2) a likelihood that the movant will suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief; (3) that the balance of equities tips in the movant's favor; and (4) that the injunction is in the public interest."6 "A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy; it is the exception rather than the rule."7

A. LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS

"[T]he very purpose of an injunction under Rule 65(a) is to give temporary relief based on a preliminary estimate of the strength of the plaintiff's suit, prior to the resolution at trial of the factual disputes and difficulties presented by the case"8 Therefore, "a plaintiff must present a prima facie case but need not show a certainty of winning."9

Plaintiff seeks a preliminary injunction based on its claim of trade dress infringement. "A product's trade dress 'is its overall image and appearance, and may include features such as size, shape, color or color combinations, texture, graphics, and even particular sales techniques.' "10 "To establish a claim of trade dress infringement, a plaintiff must show: (1) The *1227trade dress is inherently distinctive or has become distinctive through secondary meaning; (2) There is a likelihood of confusion among consumers as to the source of the competing products; and (3) The trade dress is nonfunctional."11

1. Distinctiveness/Secondary Meaning

Plaintiff must first show that the its trade dress is inherently distinctive or that it has acquired secondary meaning. "A trade dress is inherently distinctive if its 'intrinsic nature serves to identify a particular source.' "12 "Trade dress, like trademarks, are classified in the following categories of generally increasing distinctiveness: (1) generic, (2) descriptive, (3) suggestive, (4) arbitrary, or (5) fanciful."13

A generic mark refers to a general class of goods, such as "cola," of which an individual article is but a member. Such marks do not indicate the particular source of an item and are not entitled to any trademark protection. A descriptive mark identifies a characteristic or quality of an article or service, such as its color, odor, function, dimensions, or ingredients. A descriptive mark may receive protection only when it has acquired a secondary meaning by becoming distinctive of the applicant's goods in commerce. Suggestive marks suggest rather than describe a characteristic of the product and require the consumer to use imagination and perception to determine the product's nature. Arbitrary marks use common words, symbols, and pictures that do not suggest or describe any quality or characteristic of the goods or services. Finally, fanciful marks are words invented or selected for the sole purpose of functioning as a trademark. Suggestive, fanciful, and arbitrary marks are considered inherently distinctive and entitled to trademark protection.14

While the Tenth Circuit has utilized these categories in the trade dress context, it has "not mandated exclusive use of that framework."15

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Bluebook (online)
358 F. Supp. 3d 1219, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kodiak-cakes-llc-v-contl-mills-inc-utd-2019.