On Wednesday, a case was filed in the Middle District Court of Florida by Publix Asset Management Company and Publix Super Markets, Inc. against Pharmapacks, LLC and Packable Holdings, LLC. The case is regarding infringement upon trademarks and consumer confusion.
Publix is the owner of a registered trademark for the use of a single “p” in a sans serif typeface, according to court documents. The defendant’s trademark is very similar, according to Publix, showing a sans serif “p” with the last segment of the p disconnected. See image below:
The supermarket chain initially filed for the trademark in connection with the grocery store retail area, but has expanded the use and filed for additional marks in connection with a variety of products, especially those in the related pharmacy area. The use of the Publix trademarks has also been widely made online through publix.com.
The defendants, according to filings, run a large e-commerce store as well as selling third party through Amazon, using their similar mark. Publix asserts that this causes trademark dilution and confusion among consumers due to the visual similarity and use in the same market space.
Publix is suing for trademark infringement under the Lanham Act, unfair competition, common law trademark infringement, and dilution of the trademarks. The plaintiffs are represented by Holland and Knight.
