Safe Flight Instrument Corp. v. Stencel Aero Engineering Corp.

323 F. Supp. 279, 168 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 226, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9300
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. North Carolina
DecidedDecember 4, 1970
DocketCiv. A. No. 3145
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 323 F. Supp. 279 (Safe Flight Instrument Corp. v. Stencel Aero Engineering Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Safe Flight Instrument Corp. v. Stencel Aero Engineering Corp., 323 F. Supp. 279, 168 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 226, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9300 (W.D.N.C. 1970).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

WOODROW WILSON JONES, Chief Judge.

This action was instituted by the plaintiff, Safe Flight Instrument Corporation, a New York corporation with its principal office in White Plains, New York, against the defendant, Stencel Aero Engineering Corporation, a North Carolina corporation with its principal office in Arden, North Carolina, seeking injunctive and compensatory relief for alleged trademark infringement and unfair competition. The action is brought under and by virtue of the Trademark Laws of the United States, Title 15, United States Code, 1051, et seq.

Plaintiff is the owner of the trademark SCAT as used for a computerized electronic flight director system installed in an aircraft to indicate low speed operating conditions to the pilot. This trademark was first used by the plaintiff in 1958 and registered with the United States Patent Office February 21, 1961, and assigned Number 711,499.

[281]*281The defendant began using its trademark SCAT in 1965 for ballistically deployed parachutes, and on August 4, 1967 applied for federal registration. The plaintiff filed an Opposition seeking to bar registration of defendant’s mark, and extensive depositions were taken by the plaintiff and the defendant in the Patent Office Opposition proceeding. At the close of all the evidence the plaintiff instituted this action on October 1, 1969, and moved to suspend the Patent Office proceeding pending the outcome of this case.

On January 22, 1970, defendant filed a Motion for Summary Judgment pursuant to Rule 56, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and on May 11, 1970, plaintiff filed a Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment. Plaintiff and defendant agree that the facts developed in the depositions, exhibits, and affidavits in the Patent Office and in this Court, clearly establish the material facts of the controversy and are undisputed. The only controversy concerns the manner in which the law applies to these particular facts.

The Court, after a careful consideration of the pleadings, affidavits, the admitted facts, briefs, and oral argument of counsel, finds and concludes as follows :

The plaintiff is engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution in interstate commerce of safety systems and instruments for the aircraft and aerospace industries. All of plaintiff’s products are designed, manufactured, and sold for the purpose of increasing the safety of aircraft. Among the products manufactured and sold by the plaintiff is an electronic flight director system which indicates to the pilot the precise attitude and power requirements of an aircraft during all low speed operating conditions. The system includes several components, namely: a lift transducer, computer, flap transmitter, and indicator, and is identified by the trademark S.CAT which plaintiff uses in connection with the manufacture, sale, and advertisement of the apparatus. This trademark was adopted and first used by plaintiff in 1958 and was registered in the United States Patent Office on February 21, 1961, and assigned Registration Number 711,499. The trademark certificate indicates that the system is defined as “Apparatus for giving information which is a function of lift in an aircraft”.

The defendant manufactures and sells in interstate commerce parachutes which are used by sports parachutists and military personnel for the purpose of making premeditated jumps. In 1965 the defendant designed and now manufactures a ballistically operated parachute under the trademark SCAT, and on August 4, 1967 applied for federal registration of said mark. The application was assigned Serial Number 277,572, and was reviewed by the Trademark Examining Division of the Patent Office and was found to be entitled to registration and defendant was so advised on May 20, 1968. During the examination by the Patent Office the Trademark Examiner at no time cited or called attention to plaintiff’s Registration Number 711,499. Shortly after publication of defendant’s trademark in the Official Gazette of the Patent Office on June 11, 1968, plaintiff filed an Opposition seeking to bar registration of defendant’s mark. Plaintiff thereafter instituted this action on October 1, 1969, and upon its motion the Patent Office proceeding was suspended pending the outcome of this suit.

Both plaintiff and defendant manufacture and sell products connected with safety in the aircraft and aerospace field. Generally, plaintiff’s products deal with the safe operation of aircraft while the defendant’s products pertain mostly to the safety of flight personnel. The plaintiff sells a variety of products such as stall warning systems, speed control systems, speed command systems, horn and lighting warning units, and other warning systems and devices, as well as test equipment for the support of these products. The defendant in addition to the ballistically deployed parachute, [282]*282manufactures and sells an ejection seat system and a dart stabilization system which is a parachute for stabilizing the plane in the event of a spin. The plaintiff does not now manufacture nor sell a parachute and has no plans to develop or manufacture one in the future. The defendant does not now manufacture nor sell an electronic flight director system and has no plans to do so in the future. The products of both plaintiff and defendant are used by the military and civilian trade.

The product manufactured by the plaintiff under the SCAT trademark is identified as “An automatic computing system which indicates to the pilot the precise attitude and power requirements for an airplane during all low speed operating conditions, such as during take-off and landing”. It is estimated that this product with the autopower system sells for approximately $20,000 and without the autopower system the price would range from five to fifteen thousand dollars. The defendant’s product manufactured and sold under the SCAT trademark is identified as “ballistically deployed parachutes” and can be defined as “It’s a parachute that uses a ballistic aid to decrease the deployment time”, and sells for approximately $300. The company name and address appear on all name plates used on the SCAT system manufactured and sold by plaintiff, and each parachute made and sold by the defendant is clearly identified by its name and address and the trademark SCAT.

Sales of defendant’s SCAT parachute have been concentrated largely with the military and have amounted to approximately $30,000 per year. Until recently the defendant has not been able to afford a venture into the commercial market due to its size and lack of capital, but it believes it has now reached the point where it can afford such a venture. Plans are now under way for expansion and considerable sums have been expended in the commercial promotion and advertisement of the SCAT parachute. It is exhibited at trade shows attended by military and industrial personnel, pilots, engineers, and the public in general. Brochures describing the parachute and its operation are distributed to persons attending the trade shows. The defendant has employed the use of motion pictures to familiarize potential customers with its parachute and its uses. At least one article on the SCAT parachute has appeared in an aviation magazine.

Plaintiff’s SCAT system and the components thereof have been sold and advertised continuously from 1961 to date under its trademark. Total dollar sales ranged from $367,000 in 1963 to a high of $2,828,000 in 1966. These sales dropped to $912,000 during the year 1969.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

AMP Inc. v. Foy
379 F. Supp. 105 (W.D. North Carolina, 1974)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
323 F. Supp. 279, 168 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 226, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9300, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/safe-flight-instrument-corp-v-stencel-aero-engineering-corp-ncwd-1970.