D.C. Team Wins Doubleheader for MR. COFFEE

The MR. COFFEE mark became an American icon through a classic advertising campaign featuring baseball great Joe DiMaggio. Recently, a team of Foley & Lardner IP litigators in Washington, D.C. scored home runs in both Maryland and Virginia to protect the MR. COFFEE mark, now owned by Sunbeam Products, Inc. The team won summary judgment in Maryland and a trial verdict in Virginia against a Canadian company and its sole shareholder, preventing them from exploiting MR. COFFEE. The Foley team consisted of Brian McNamara, Lisa Mankofsky, Geoff McNutt and Vineeta Bathia, with help from Max Welsh, Akita Adkins and Lucia Beal.

The case began years ago with Mister Coffee & Services, Inc., a company allegedly related to the Maryland and Virginia defendants. That company used the MISTER COFFEE mark (note spelling) and opposed trademark registration of MR. COFFEE for certain coffee goods and services in Canada. Although the Canadian trademark office sustained the opposition, its opinion noted