Groeneveld Transport Efficiency, Inc. v. Lubecore International, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
730 F.3d 494 (2013)
- Written by Sarah Holley, JD
Facts
Groeneveld Transport Efficiency, Inc. (plaintiff) had been in the business of manufacturing and selling grease pumps used in an automated lubrication system (ALS) for almost half a decade. An ALS was a system for delivering a controlled amount of lubrication to different parts of a machine as it was operating. Automated lubrication saved time, increased operational efficiencies, and minimized the need for frequent manual lubrication. The main component of an ALS was a grease pump that forced grease through injectors and hoses to targeted areas at timed intervals. Groeneveld began selling the grease pump in question—the EP0 grease pump—in the 1980s. Later, in 2008, Lubecore International, Inc. (defendant) began manufacturing and selling a grease pump almost identical in design to that of Groeneveld. Groeneveld brought suit against Lubecore for trade-dress infringement, among other claims. The district court granted Lubecore’s motion for judgment as a matter of law as to all claims, except with respect to the claim of trade-dress infringement. Lubecore appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Gilman, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
