Williams Industries, Inc. v. Tervis Tumbler Company

Plaintiff, Williams Industries, is based out of Shelbyville, IN and designs/manufactures a variety of products including plastic drink tumblers.  Among their products are the 12 oz. and 14oz. Tritan™ double wall tumblers.  Plaintiff has an ongoing business relationship with Hit Promotional Products, a seller of many products, including the Tritan™ tumblers.  Defendant, Tervis owns two copyrights regarding design and style of plastic drink tumblers.  Tervis sent a cease and desist letter, claiming Hit “deceived and misled customer who pay for

[its] products into believing that such products are those of Tervis… [t]his attempt to profit off of Tervis’ goodwill is a violation of state and Federal trademark and unfair competition laws.” In response, Hit removed the Tritan™ tumblers from their website.  Plaintiff is requesting the cancellation of Tervis‘ trademarks due to genericness, unenforceability, and fraudulent procurement; as well as compensation for damages resulting from the alleged tortious interference.

Court Case Number: 1:11-cv-00860-SEB-DML
File Date: Monday, June 27, 2011
Plaintiff: Williams Industries, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Dwight D. Lueck, Jennifer Lynn Schuster of Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Defendant: Tervis Tumbler Company
Cause: Tortious Interference with Business Relationships, Cancellation of the ‘577 Mark for Fraudulent Procurement of Trademark Registration, Cancellation of the ‘577 Mark for Genericness, Request for Declaratory Judgment of Unenforceability of the ‘577 Mark, Request for Declaratory Judgment of Non-Infringement of the ‘871 Mark, Request for Declaratory Judgement of Unenforceability of Tervis’s Alleged Trade Dress, Common Law Unfair Competition,
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Debra McVicker Lynch