Washington, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the trademark of an Arizona Furniture Company was violated by another company, which used to use its name and its logo to sell the same products – the court “slam-sting” Proof “said.
Issue
Stone Creek sued the Omania Italian design, which had manufactured leather furniture under license for the Arizona Company, but eventually the Stone Creek logo was used on the furniture that was sold to another customer, in the Midwest Bone-ton department store chain.
Background
Stone Creek, which itself is called Arizona’s largest furniture maker, was founded in 1990, according to the court records. It received the state’s trademark protection in 1992 and federal security in 2012. Stone Creek faced Omnia’s representatives in California’s trade show in 2003, where the Arizona Company agreed to buy the furniture manufactured by Omania and sell it under the Stone Creek brand. That relationship will continue through 2012.
Meanwhile, Omnia expanded her relationship with the Bone-Ton Store in 2008, who agreed to buy the company’s leather furniture but wanted to sell it under a label called “American”. Las Vegas-based Omnia offered many options, but Bon Tonton chose the Stone Creek brand.
Case in court
Previously the lower court ruled in favor of Omniya, in which it was said that where the furniture was sold, the geographical distance between the markets used to compensate for any confusion, which could have been about consumers, which company was buying furniture. But the three Judges panel of the 9th American Circuit Court of Appeal said in favor of Stone Creek, “Illusions based on identical marks and similar goods can hardly be stronger than here. It overturned the district court’s ruling and sent the case back to the lower court with directions to reconsider Stone Creek’s claim for some of Omnia’s profits.
Court decision
The court said that Omni copied the logo directly from the material given by Stone Creek and started selling Stone Creek-branded furniture through a Bon-Ton Store.
Stone Creek officials only learned about the sale of 2013, when they were started inquiring about Stone Creek-branded products, which were sold bong-tones – under the warranty card included with the furniture. One customer said about the Stone Creek-branded leather sofa that he bought in a bun-ton department store in Chicago.
The district court ruled for Omnia, saying there was no likelihood of confusion between the far-flung furniture. But the circuit court didn’t see it that way. Judge M. Margaret McCain said in the opinion of the Apiliate Panel, “Oumania’s mark is an exact replica of the Stone Creek logo, which was copied from Omania to Omnia by Ollia Stone.” “And the items on which the marks appear are the same: Stone Creek and Bone-Tone not only sell leather furniture, but they both sell leather furniture which is manufactured by Omnia.
“The court also dismissed Omni’s arguments that the use of the logo of Stone Creek was done inadvertently, before sending this case to the district court”.
