Who would sue Dairy Queen? Who but W.B. Mason

By adamg on Sat, 03/17/2018 - 3:01pm

Who would confuse W.B. Mason's Blizzard brands of spring water and copier paper with Dairy Queen's Blizzard brand ice-cream? Who but a moron, W.B. Mason argues in a suit filed against Dairy Queen this week.

W.B. Mason's suit, filed in US District Court in Boston, is an attempt to block the trademark suit Dairy Queen filed in Minnesota earlier in the week, and asks a judge to declare there is no way anybody would ever confuse its bottled water or copier paper with Dairy Queen's blended soft-serve ice cream in a cup.

Dairy Queen's suit specifically mentions only W.B. Mason's bottled water, and only seeks damages related to the sale of the water, which it charges could confuse people into thinking Dairy Queen has something to do with the liquid, which, like its ice cream, is a consumable product. But W.B. Mason's suit thunders that Dairy Queen is trying to stamp out its Blizzard-brand copy paper as well - despite the fact that Dairy Queen does not even mention that product in its suit:

While W.B. Mason first began using the BLIZZARD mark in connection with paper products in 2003 and spring water in 2010, W.B. Mason is not aware of a single person who has ever been confused by its use of BLIZZARD. Indeed, no reasonable person would ever mistakenly believe that copy paper or spring water sold by W.B. Mason and emblazoned with
the W.B. MASON mark and logo emanates from, or is associated with, [American Dairy Queen]. Similarly, W.B. Mason’s use of BLIZZARD on copy paper or spring water that is sold and marketed under the W.B. MASON mark and logo has caused, and will cause, no dilution of ADQ’s BLIZZARD

W.B. Mason also charges that Dairy Queen did a bit of conniving - the two sides had been negotiating a possible settlement when all of a sudden, Dairy Queen up and filed a lawsuit, the company alleges - and besides, a lot of companies use "Blizzard" in product names.

Dairy Queen, based in Minnesota, filed suit there in part because W.B. Mason has at least one store in that state and because Minnesota residents can buy things through the W.B. Mason Web site. W.B. Mason, based in Brockton, filed suit here in part because there are a number of Dairy Queens in Massachusetts.

Topics:

Business

Free tagging:

Lawsuits

Attachment	Size
Dairy Queen's complaint	685.98 KB
W. B. Mason's complaint	434.76 KB

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Comments

In other news...

By dmcboston on Sat, 03/17/2018 - 3:23pm.

...the National Weather Service will now rename winter storms that rhyme with 'lizard' to 'bombastic wind and snow thingies'.

'Hurricanes', since the lawsuit from the "Hurry Cane" company, will be called 'really fast wind thingies with a bit of rain'.

"Blizzard" Is A Rather Stupid Name For A Plastic Bottle Of Water

By Elmer on Sat, 03/17/2018 - 3:57pm.

Their original name had similar problems

By BostonDog on Sat, 03/17/2018 - 5:09pm.

"Natural Ice"

Why Do They Feel Their Own Company Name Is So Inadequate?

By Elmer on Sat, 03/17/2018 - 5:27pm.

^{( so-called "marketing" people! )}

Don't worry

By roadman on Mon, 03/19/2018 - 1:40pm.

They'll be the first against the wall when the revolution comes.

DQ will win

By cybah on Sat, 03/17/2018 - 5:19pm.

So according to the complaints, WB Mason has used the 'blizzard' branding since 2003.

Dairy Queen started using the 'blizzard' in 1987 (as 'registered', first use 1984 in its current incarnation as a 'Flavor blender machine for frozen treats.',). Even if you count the latest iteration of the DQ Blizzard, it still could predate WB Mason.

It seems like DQ would win because they've been using it far longer than WB Mason and its an established brand by the time WB Mason started to use it as a in house brand in 2003.

But then again I'm not a lawyer, I just play one on the internet :-)

Source:

DQ Complaint: p. 5,
WB Complaint, p. 4

DQ should countersue

By Smart Arse on Sat, 03/17/2018 - 5:43pm.

Not only did they use the name for their product first, but the product is, obviously to most of us, completely different.

I used to like using WB mason because they were a local company that delivered quickly. Now, I'm inclined to to use their competitors.

From now on, the WB stands for Wanton Buttholes.

Did you miss the part

By perruptor on Sat, 03/17/2018 - 7:08pm.

Did you miss the part where Dairy Queen sued them first? It left me wondering why anyone would want their product confused with a third-rate ice cream chain. They wouldn't, of course.

The WB Mason suit IS a countersuit. Be careful, or you might lose the first half of your name.

Yes I missed it

By Smart Arse on Sun, 03/18/2018 - 3:27pm.

Thanks for pointing it out.

And thanks for caring, but I much more cherish the second part of my name, thank you very much.

Not just first use, though

By adamg on Sat, 03/17/2018 - 5:45pm.

You also have to prove there's some likelihood of confusion, in part because the products are in the same basic niche. So one of the judges could rule that, yeah, bottled water is close enough to what Dairy Queen offers that it's a trademark violation. Dairy Queen tries to buttress its case of potential confusion by noting that W.B. Mason also sells ICEE brand frozen squeeze candy and bulk boxes of ice-cream cones. Dairy Queen might have a tougher battle with copier paper, but, oh, and I'm no lawyer, either, that might be why their complaint doesn't even mention it.

Trademark Law

By Waquiot on Sat, 03/17/2018 - 6:14pm.

Is more of an art than a science.

My non-lawyer take is that W.B. Mason wouldn’t be able to register their trademark, but DQ might not be able to enjoin them from using blizzard for their water. The best outcome will be a settlement.