Orrville-based J.M. Smucker Co. might find itself in a legal dogfight.
The Washington Business Times reports that McLean, Va.-based Mars Inc. is suing Smucker, alleging the company is infringing on its trademark for Greenies Pill Pockets pet treats with its Milk-Bone Pill Pouches.
From the story:
Mars and its Tennessee-based subsidiary, Mars Petcare U.S. Inc., say J.M. Smucker and subsidiary Big Heart Pet Inc., which owns Milk-Bone, created a "confusingly similar" product, according to a documents filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Virginia.
Mars also argues the term "pouches" is misleading because the "pet treat is simply a treat with a hole in the middle and thus is not a 'pouch.'"
Mars claims the product could damage the reputation of its Greenies Pill Pockets, which have been sold online and in pet stores since August 2002 with sales in excess of $80 million per year.
The paper says Mars wants the court to determine damages, including profits attributable to the Pill Pouches' mark and attorney's fees. The company also asked for the court "to prohibit the further use of the Pill Pouches brand and order the destruction of all packages, labels and the materials that bear the infringing mark."
An attorney representing Smucker wrote to Mars in April saying company officials "do not believe that a likelihood of confusion will occur as the result" of the distribution and sale of the Milk-Bone Pill Pouches, the newspaper reports.
Smucker got into the pet food business last year when it bought Big Heart Pet Brands, which includes Milk-Bone dog treats and Meow Mix cat food, in a $3.2 billion deal.
WELL-ROUNDED TECHNOLOGY
Time is impressed by some new technology from Akron-based Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
The company's Eagle 360 tires earned a spot on the magazine's list of the best inventions of 2016.
From the profile:
As companies race to develop self-driving cars, Goodyear is reinventing their wheels. Its spherical concept tire, which debuted in March, allows cars to move in many new directions, including sideways into a parallel parking space and at specific angles and speeds to counteract slippery surfaces. The key, says Sebastien Fontaine, an industrial designer at Goodyear, is magnetic levitation: whereas traditional tires are bolted to cars, the Eagle 360s hover beneath them, free from "the limits of [traditional] steering." To be sure, these tires won't hit pavement anytime soon: they're meant for self-driving cars that are likely at least five years away. In order to shift the status quo, says Fontaine, "we need different companies working with us, together."
WIN SOME, LOSE SOME
Elections, of course, have winners and losers, and even though Ohio backed Donald Trump on Nov. 8, the state still might suffer in the new administration.
That's the upshot of this New York Times story, which looks at the states where governors and other high-profile officials provided significant and early support to Trump — and those, like Ohio, where support wasn't forthcoming.
Maine, North Dakota and Iowa, for instance, had strong Trump backers among their high-ranking public officials, and they might be in a better position to get funding for favored projects.
Then there's the flip side. From the story:
After Gov. John Kasich of Ohio said he could not support Mr. Trump, Ohio "may not be at the top of the pecking order when it comes to discretionary dollars," acknowledged Michael Gonidakis, a Republican political consultant who leads the state's Right to Life organization.
"He's going to reward those states where the leaders and establishment were out there supporting him," Mr. Gonidakis said. "But Ohio won't be last in line either. I think Donald Trump is a bigger person than that."
CHAMPAGNE WITH THOSE FRIES?
A fun Wall Street Journal Q&A with three of the country's leading sommeliers includes some quirky responses from one of them, Jeff Kellogg, a Canton native who's wine director for the three-Michelin-star Quince and its sister restaurant, Cotogna.
Here's a taste:
What's your favorite album?
Tupac's All Eyez on Me. There wasn't a party or a car ride when I was in high school without this album playing.
What's your favorite hotel?
The Greenbrier in West Virginia. It's so rare in the United States to have so much history and still be so relevant. They also gave me a sommelier job when I was younger.
What's your main indulgence?
When I go home to Canton, Ohio, I'm not afraid to crush more than one pint of Graeter's Buckeye Chocolate Chip.
What's the ideal food-wine pairing?
French fries and champagne.
On that food note, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.
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