Mars Inc. is suing J.M. Smucker Co. in U.S. District Court in Virginia, alleging trademark infringement,
the
Washington Business Journal
reported.
Mars alleges that Smucker's Milk-Bone Pill Pouches infringes on its trademark for Greenies Pill Pockets, the article said. Mars and a subsidiary, Mars Petcare U.S. Inc., say Smucker and its subsidiary Big Heart Pet Inc., which owns Milk-Bone, created a “confusingly similar” product, the article said.
Mars is asking the court to determine damages. It also is requesting that the court prohibit the further use of the Pill Pouches brand and order the destruction of all packages, labels and materials bearing the mark, the report said.
An attorney for Smucker wrote to Mars in April saying company officials “do not believe that a likelihood of confusion will occur as the result” of the sale of the Milk-Bone product. The attorney also sent photos of other brands of pet treats used for disguising medication, the journal article said.
Smucker entered the pet product business last year, when it purchased Big Heart Pet Brands for $3.2 billion, the report said. (Source:
Washington Business Journal
, Nov. 22, 2016.)
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