Intellectual Property Law

Toilet Paper Trade Dress Suit Rolls On:

By Jonathan Menkes

On March 1, 2010, Koch Industries Inc.?s George-Pacific unit sued Family Dollar Stores Inc. for trademark infringement.  In the complaint, Georgia-Pacific alleges that Family Dollar and its supplier, Sun Paper Co. of Duncan, infringed Georgia-Pacific?s trade dress for its Quilted Northern and Angel Soft toilet paper.  Family Dollar is a discount retail chain located in Mathews, North Carolina, and is accused of selling toilet paper that resembles the pattern used on Georgia Pacific?s toilet paper as well as using Georgia-Pacific?s Angel Soft and Quilted Northern trademarks without authorization.  Specifically, Georgia-Pacific alleges that its marks are placed on Family Dollar?s products with the phrase ?compare to? which creates a false impression that the products are in fact comparable.  Georgia-Pacific claims that the Family Dollar toilet paper is inferior and therefore Georgia-Pacific has suffered harm because customers are confused and likely to think that Georgia-Pacific?s Products are the products sold at the Family Dollar (a form of Reverse Passing-Off).

This litigation is no small matter.  Since 1998, sales of the Quilted Northern toilet paper exceeded $7 billion, and between 2002 and 2009, sales for the Angel Soft exceeded $5 billion.  Thus, the outcome of this litigation will have serious financial implications for toilet paper producers and their marketing programs.  Georgia-Pacific seeks to prevent future infringement by Family Dollar and its distributor in addition to an order preventing Family Dollar from asserting that the toilet products are comparable.  Georgia-Pacific also seeks money damages, costs and attorney fees.  It will be interesting to see how this suit plays out (check back for more updates). 

Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP v. Family Dollar Stores Inc., 1:10-cv-00584-JEC, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta).

Full post as published by BC Law Intell. Prop. & Tech. Forum on March 08, 2010 (boomark / email).