Ending a hard-fought battle over a trademark, Nestle S.A. announced that it will stop using the name "Skillet Sensations" as part of its frozen food offerings. After the parties first began disputing ownership of the "Skillet Sensation" trademark, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled in Applebee's favor in September 2003 saying that Applebee's had prior rights to the name, having used it for a year before Nestle's subsidiary. Applebee's then filed its lawsuit against Nestle in federal court in Missouri. Last week, Nestle's subsidiary Stouffer's agreed to rename the products "Stouffer's Skillets" and "Lean Cuisine Skillets" beginning in the spring of 2005. Based on this agreement, the parties filed a joint motion to dismiss the case and the court granted the motion.
Posted by franchiselawblog at November 18, 2004 06:04 PM