November 04, 2005
Jimmy John's Settles Menu Copyright Suit
Jimmy John's, which owns, manages or franchises 335 gourmet sandwich shops, settled a copyright and trade dress infringement lawsuit against TM Foods of Avon, Inc., which operates a House of Sandwich shop in Avon, Indiana. Jimmy John's filed suit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging that the House of Sandwich's menu and menu boards infringed on Jimmy John's copyrights. Jimmy John's claimed that the overall selection, arrangement and grouping of sandwiches and the use of a unitary price for each sandwich group on the House of Sandwich menu resembled the copyrighted menus used by Jimmy John's. As part of the settlement, TM Foods agreed to pay Jimmy John's $50,000 and to destroy its menus and menu boards. Additionally, the parties entered into a consent judgment which permanently enjoins the owners, officers, directors and shareholders of the House of Sandwich from copying or using aspects of its menus.
Posted by franchiselawblog at November 4, 2005 11:28 AM