Luv N' Care, Ltd. v. Regent Baby Products Corp.

986 F. Supp. 2d 400, 2013 WL 6501233, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174102
District Court, S.D. New York·Decided December 11, 2013·No. No. 10 Civ. 9492·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

SHIRA A. SCHEINDLIN, District Judge:

I. INTRODUCTION

Luv n’ Care, Ltd. and Admar International, Inc. (collectively, “LNC”) bring this infringement action against Regent Baby Products Corp. d/b/a Baby King (“Regent”). LNC sells sippy cups and other products for children in the United States and internationally under the NUBY brand name, or through private labels including Precious Moments and Parent’s Choice.1 Admar International, Inc. owns the interest in LNC’s trademarks and trade dress.2 Regent is also a baby products company and sells its products under the Baby King brand name, or through private labels including Fisher Price and Sesame Beginnings.3

LNC alleges that Regent has infringed its no-spill drinking cup design patent and corresponding trade dress.4 LNC also al[404] leges unfair competition and tortious interference with prospective business relations under New York state law. Regent now moves for partial summary judgment on LNC’s trade dress infringement and tortious interference claims. For the reasons set forth below, Regent’s motion for partial summary judgment is granted.

II. BACKGROUND

Regent’s motion for summary judgment on trade dress infringement is limited to LNC’s claims as to the flip-top cap and the hard spout cup and cap combination.5 “LNC has been selling its hard top design for approximately fifteen years, and its flip-top design for ... over fourteen years.”6 Since that time, “LNC has sold more than $21 million of its flip-top products ... in the United States, and more than $58 million of its hard top products in the United States.”7 LNC claims that numerous products manufactured by Regent and sold under both its brand name and private labels infringe upon its protected trade dress.8

LNC also alleges that Regent’s sale of allegedly infringing no-spill cups has tortiously'interfered with its prospective business relations.9 Primarily, LNC claims that Regent has “acted to induce [LNC’s] customers including, but not limited to, Dollar General Corporation, to purchase the [infringing] no-spill cups ... instead of [LNC’s] authorized, legitimate no-spill cups ... with the sole purpose of harming [LNC]” or by using “dishonest, unfair or improper means to cause harm and injury to [LNC].”10

III. LEGAL STANDARD ON A MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Summary judgment is appropriate “only where, construing all the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-movant and drawing all reasonable inferences in that party’s favor, there is ‘no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.’ ”11 “A fact is material if it might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law, and an issue of fact is genuine if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” 12

“[T]he moving party has the burden of showing that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the undisputed facts entitle him to judgment as a matter of law.”13 “When the burden of proof at trial would fall on the non-moving party, it ordi[405] narily is sufficient for the movant to point to a lack of evidence to go to the trier of fact on an essential element of the non[-]movant’s claim.”14 The burden then “shifts to the non[-]moving party to present specific evidence showing a genuine dispute.”15 This requires “ ‘more than simply showing] that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts,’ ”16 and the non-moving party cannot “rely on conclusory allegations or unsubstantiated speculation.”17

In deciding a motion for summary judgment, “[t]he role of the court is not to resolve disputed issues of fact but to assess whether there are any factual issues to be tried.”18 “ ‘Credibility determinations, the weighing of the evidence, and the drawing of legitimate inferences from the facts are jury functions, not those of a judge.’ ”19

IV. APPLICABLE LAW

A. Trade Dress Infringement Under the Lanham Act

The Lanham Act provides:

(1) Any person who, on or in connection with any goods or services, or any container for goods, uses in commerce any word, term, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof, or any false designation of origin, false or misleading description of fact, or false or misleading representation of fact, which-
(A) is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association of such person with another person, or as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of his or her goods, services, or commercial activities by another person ...
shall be hable in a civil action by any person who believes that he or she is or is likely to be damaged by such act.20

A plaintiff asserting a trademark infringement claim must show first that its trade dress or trademark is a protectable interest under the Lanham Act, and second that there is a likelihood of confusion.21 If a plaintiff offers no evidence of a protectable interest, a court need not consider likelihood of confusion.22 Moreover, a Lanham Act claimant must describe its protectable interest with some clarity — it must offer “ ‘a precise expression of the [406] character and scope of the claimed trade dress.’ ”23

In order to succeed on a claim of trade dress infringement under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, a plaintiff must demonstrate: (1) that its claimed mark is either inherently distinctive or has acquired distinctiveness through secondary meaning; (2) that there is a likelihood of confusion between its trade dress and the defendant’s; and (3) that the trade dress is non-functional.24 Inherent distinctiveness is evaluated as follows:

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Luv N' Care, Ltd. v. Regent Baby Products Corp., 986 F. Supp. 2d 400, 2013 WL 6501233, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174102 (S.D.N.Y. 2013).

986 F. Supp. 2d 400 (Luv N' Care, Ltd. v. Regent Baby Products Corp.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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