Shaw Industries Group, a leading carpet manufacturer recently sued The Hershey Company in Federal Court in Georgia for a declaratory judgment that its Chocolate Kiss colored carpet did not infringe Hershey’s CHOCOLATE KISS trademark.
According to the complaint, Shaw has been using CHOCOLATE KISS as a color in connection with its carpets since 1993 and has used it in connection with 200 carpet styles since that time. Shaw received a cease and desist letter from Hershey’s in December of 2012 which claimed that the use of the CHOCOLATE KISS mark illegally diluted and infringed its trademark. Despite its almost 20 years of use of the Chocolate Kiss color name, Shaw claimed that this December letter was the first time that it was notified that Hershey’s objected to the use. In its response to Hershey’s cease and desist letter, Shaw noted that it was discontinuing use of the CHOCOLATE KISS colored carpets in June of 2013.
Apparently dissatisfied with Shaw’s response to its cease and desist letter, Hershey’s sent a responsive letter demanding that Shaw “immediately” discontinue the carpet. Shaw responded by commencing the lawsuit. Given the planned phaseout of the Chocolate Kiss colored carpet, it is doubtful that this case will ever go to trial, however, it presents an interesting issue of whether products named after popular goods and services do infringe or dilute the trademarks in those goods. In light of Shaw’s long use of this carpet color, another interesting issue would be whether the defense of laches would be sustained by the court. Laches is a defense to certain actions based upon the right holder failing object or do something to curtail the illegal use.
The bottom line– be careful what you name your product, and don’t snooze on your rights.