McIlhenny Co. v. Bulliard

16 F.2d 470, 1926 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1599
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Louisiana
DecidedApril 30, 1926
DocketNo. 22
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 16 F.2d 470 (McIlhenny Co. v. Bulliard) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McIlhenny Co. v. Bulliard, 16 F.2d 470, 1926 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1599 (W.D. La. 1926).

Opinion

DAWKINS, District Judge.

This ease originated in January, 1919, and on May 18, 1920, the court rendered a decree as follows:

“It is ordered, adjudged, and decreed as follows:
“(1) That the word ‘Tabasco,’ • when adopted by plaintiffs’ predecessor, as applied to pepper sauce of his manufacture, was not then and is not now employed in a geographical, generic, or descriptive sense, but was and is employed fancifully,' and only to indicate ownership and origin, without regard to the location from which the said product or any of its ingredients came, and said word ‘Tabasco’ was and is a valid trade-mark, and is now the sole property of the plaintiff.
“(2) That the use by the defendant Ed Bulliard of the word ‘Tabasco’ upon and in connection with the sauce manufactured and sold by him is an infringement of plaintiff’s said trade-mark in said word, and that the use by defendant, in connection with the sauce of his manufacture and in the advertisement and sale thereof, of bottles, wrappers; ear-tons, and packages like those shown by the exhibits of defendant’s packages filed herein, which so resemble those of the plaintiff ás to be calculated to induce the belief that defendant’s such sauce is that manufactured by the plaintiff, is unfair trading.
“(3) It is thereupon further ordered, adjudged, and decreed that the defendant Ed Bulliard, his agents, servants, and employees, and all holding by, through, or under them, or any of them, be and the same hereby, each and all, are perpetually enjoined and re[471]*471strained from using or employing in connection with the manufacture, bottling, and packaging, advertisement, offering for sale, or sale, of any sauce, the word ‘Tabasco/ or any like word, except only the sauce manufactured by plaintiff, and from using or employing the said word ‘Tabasco/ or any like word, upon or in connection with any label, wrapper, carton, package, or advertisement, except such as may be used in connection with the sauce manufactured by plaintiff, and from using or employing in connection with • the manufacture, advertisement, offering for sale, or sale, of such sauce, bottles,'wrappers, cartons, or packages identical with or like those shown in the exhibits herein filed, or any other bottles, wrappers, cartons, or packages so resembling those of the plaintiff as to be calculated to induce the belief that defendant’s said sauce is that manufactured by the plaintiff, and that a writ of injunction issue accordingly.
“(4) It is further ordered, adjudged, and decreed that the counterclaim of the defendant be dismissed, and that the plaintiff recover the cost of this proceeding, to be taxed by the Clerk.”

See (D. C.) 265 F. page 705.

No appeal was taken therefrom. On November 14, 1925, an. amended bill of complaint was filed, in which it was alleged that the respondent had willfully and intentionally violated said injunction by using the word “Tabasco” in its business of manufacturing and selling pepper sauce, the pertinent allegations of the supplemental bill being as follows:

“That defendant has continuously for a long period of time prior to the date of the filing of this supplemental bill offered for sale and sold a pepper sauce manufactured by him and sometimes known as ‘Evangeline Sauce/ as ‘Tabasco Sauce/ or ‘Evangeline Extract of Tabasco Pepper Sauce/ or ‘Evangeline Sauce (Tabasco)/ or ‘Evangeline Extract of Pepper Sauce (Tabasco)/ to prospective purchasers and retailers of such sauce, and has called and designated said pepper sauce manufactured and sold by him, as in this paragraph set forth, in correspondence with and invoices sent to prospective purchasers, and retailers of said sauce; that the word ‘Tabasco/ in the names by which defendant has offered for sale and sold and called and designated his said sauce, has been in many instances made the most prominent word in' the name used for said sauce, by being printed or typewritten in red ink, or in blue or black ink underscored in red, while the remaining words of the name used for said sauce have been printed or typewritten in either blue or black ink.
“V. That plaintiff is informed and believes, and therefore avers, that the defendant for a long period of time prior to the date of the filing of this supplemental bill has inserted or caused to be inserted in newspapers published throughout the country numerous advertisements, all in more or less similar form, specimens of which are attached hereto and filed herewith, marked Exhibits A, B, and C, which advertisements constitute the advertising of the pepper sauce manufactured and sold by defendant as ‘Tabasco Sauce/ in that the said advertisements are calculated and intended to deceive and do deceive the readers thereof, so that they believe that the sauce manufactured by defendant is ‘Tabasco Sauce’; said advertisements appearing, inter alia, in the issues of the Times-Picayune, published in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, the Houston Chronicle, published in the city of Houston, Texas, and the Birmingham News, published in the city of Birmingham, Alabama.
“VI. That plaintiff is informed and believes, and therefore avers, that the defendant for a long period of time prior to the date of the filing of this supplemental bill has advertised or caused to be advertised the pepper sauce, manufactured and sold by him, as ‘Tabasco Sauce’ in various trade journals published and circulated throughout the United States; said advertisements appearing, inter alia, in the issues of the Commercial Bulletin, a trade journal published in Los Angeles, California, and in the Price List, published by Goodman & Beer Co., Inc., of New Orleans, Louisiana.
“VII. That the use of the word ‘Tabasco/ as set forth in paragraphs IV, V, and VI hereof, is in violation of and contrary to the decree and injunction of this court heretofore made and issued in this cause, as set forth in paragraphs II and III hereof; that defendant, in advertising, offering for sale, and selling his sauce, as set forth in said paragraphs IV, V, and VI, is advertising, offering for sale, and selling the same as ‘Tabasco Sauce/ and is violating said decree and injunction, as well as plaintiff’s trade-mark and trade and business rights, and is trading unfairly; that the use of the word ‘Tabasco/ in connection with the said sauce manufactured by the defendant, as set forth in said paragraphs IV, V, and VI, is calculated to deceive and does deceive prospective purchasers and consumers of pepper sauce, so that they accept the sauce so manufactured, advertised, offered for sale, and sold by defendant as and for the [472]*472sauce of the plaintiff and, the defendant is ' knowingly, willfully, and intentionally using the word ‘Tabasco’ in such manner to deceive said prospective purchasers and consumers and for no other reason; that defendant by so doing, is knowingly, willfully, and intentionally infringing upon the plaintiff’s trademark and business and trade rights, and upon the good will and reputation of plaintiff, and is trading unfairly; and that the said use ■ of the word ‘Tabasco’ and the said infringement of plaintiff’s trade-mark and other rights and unfair trading- have caused and are now causing plaintiff large pecuniary damage and loss of profits.” .

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16 F.2d 470, 1926 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1599, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcilhenny-co-v-bulliard-lawd-1926.