Campbell Campbell Edwards & Conroy obtain dismissal of trade-dress infringement claims against BRG Sports, Inc. f/k/a Easton-Bell Sports, Inc.
April 2015
Serving as local counsel for Perkins Coie, LLP, James M. Campbell assisted in obtaining dismissal of Plaintiff’s trade-dress infringement claims against our client BRG Sports, Inc. f/k/a Easton-Bell Sports, Inc. (“BRG Sports”) The Plaintiff, Bern Unlimited, Inc. (“Bern”), alleged in its Complaint that a particular line of its sports helmets contained distinct features and that BRG Sports as well as several other helmet manufacturers designed and sold helmets that copied those features. Bern’s Complaint asserted both federal and state trade-dress claims. Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts found that Bern failed to establish the requisite elements of its trade-dress claims. Because a significant portion of the consuming public did not connect the design features as being attributed to Bern, they did not acquire “secondary meaning” as required. In support of their defense, the Defendants submitted a consumer survey of more than 250 prospective helmet purchasers in twelve shopping malls around the country. None of the respondents to the survey who were shown a Bern helmet identified Bern as the source of the product. Consequently, Bern’s trade-dress infringement claims were dismissed.
View Memorandum and Order on Motions For Summary Judgement.
