Legal News

American Red Cross Defeats Johnson & Johnson in Trademark Spat

By Dan Slater

There it is, the ubiquitous red cross, used to brand everything from watches, to bandages, to international aid. A decision Wednesday by a federal judge in Manhattan means its ubiquity will live on.

Last year, Johnson & Johnson sued the American Red Cross for licensing the symbol to commercial partners, such as Target, who sell Red Cross-branded products, like disaster kits and humidifiers, at retail establishments. At the time, according to this NYT article, a J&J spokesman said, “What we’re talking about here is their deviation from a longstanding partnership and collaboration around the use of this trademark and their push to commercialize this trademark in the for-profit arena.”

He referred to an 1895 agreement in which the J&J and the Red Cross agreed to share use of the symbol. But the Red Cross angered J&J by licensing the symbol to other companies for use in the organization’s fund-raising program, which wound up making about $10 million.

On Wednesday, reports the NYT, Southern District judge Jed Rakoff said the Congressional charter for the Red Cross gave it the right to use the symbol even for business purposes. (Here’s the opinion, via How Appealing.) In his second ruling dismissing part of the case — the first one was in November — Rakoff said that charitable reasons for Red Cross’s business ventures made them all the more reasonable. “The fact that the ultimate purpose of these licensing activities is a ‘charitable purpose’ — i.e. to raise funds that A.R.C., a not-for-profit organization, can utilize for its charitable endeavors — only further emphasizes their legitimacy.”

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on May 16, 2008 (boomark / email).