Foamation, Inc. v. Wedeward Enterprises

970 F. Supp. 676 (1997)

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Foamation, Inc. v. Wedeward Enterprises

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
970 F. Supp. 676 (1997)

Facts

Foamation, Inc. (plaintiff) filed suit against Wedeward Enterprises, Inc. (Wedeward) (defendant) for, among other things, unfair competition based on Wedeward’s manufacture and marketing of a novelty hat in the form of a cheese wedge molded from polyurethane foam that was allegedly a copy of a hat sold by Foamation. The cheesehead hats were popular as a symbol of support for the Green Bay Packers football team, and evidence suggested that there were not enough hats to satisfy demand at the 1997 Super Bowl. Foamation also touted the hats as synonymous with the America’s Dairyland slogan and broadly representative of Wisconsinites. Wedeward counterclaimed, alleging that Foamation did not have a valid copyright in the cheese-wedge hat. Wedeward moved for summary judgment, arguing that Foamation did not have a valid claim for unfair competition under the Lanham Act because Foamation’s cheesehead hat had not acquired secondary meaning and, therefore, was not entitled to trade-dress protection.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Callahan, J.)

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