Ezaki Glico Kabushiki Kaisha v. Lotte International America Corp.
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
986 F.3d 250 (2021)
- Written by Sara Adams, JD
Facts
Ezaki Glico Kabushiki Kaisha (Ezaki) (plaintiff) was a Japanese candy company that invented and produced Pocky, a popular cookie-stick snack. The Pocky cookie sticks were long and thin. One end of each cookie stick was coated with chocolate, and the other end was left uncoated. Some Pocky variants were also dipped in crushed almonds. Ezaki began selling Pocky in the United States and, because of Pocky’s popularity, also began registering trademarks and patents. Two Pocky product designs were registered as trade dresses—one design for Pocky cookies without crushed almonds, and one design for Pocky cookies with crushed almonds. Lotte International America Corp. (Lotte) (defendant) began producing and selling Pepero, a similar cookie-stick snack, in the United States. Ezaki sued Lotte in federal district court for trademark infringement and unfair competition in violation of the Lanham Act. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Lotte on the ground that Pocky’s design was functional and, therefore, did not qualify for trade-dress protections. Ezaki appealed. Ezaki argued that Pocky’s design features were not functional because they were not essential to creating or consuming Pocky cookies. Lotte argued that the Pocky designs were functional and, therefore, the designs were not protected under trademark law.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Bibas, J.)
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