Intellecual Property: Food and Beverages - Recent Developments

Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. American Body Building (Southern District of New York, January 12, 2007)

Two competing manufacturers of nutritional supplement drinks both use a similar bottle shape for their products: a cylindrical, seamless body with a thin neck and a vertical display of the names of their drinks – Vital’s drink, “Redline,” and ABB’s “Speed Shot.” Vital claimed the bottle shape as its trade dress. The court held the bottle shape was common and basic, that the use of vertical lettering was required on any bottle of this shape, and that Vita’s product had not acquired a secondary meaning; thus, the trade dress deserved little or no protection. Moreover, Vital failed to demonstrate confusion between the products, especially as consumers of these products tend to be discerning. Click here for full version.