Pepperidge Farm alleges damage to its goodwill (which is, in legal theory, the value of the trademark) by Trader Joe’s sale of an allegedly infringing cookie. And to my point about trademarks being undervalued, Pepperidge Farm owns a trademark in the *design* of the cookie (probably also the Milano name, but that’s not at issue here). Here is the registration: http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4805:hu4uh1.2.98
So, Pepperidge Farm is the only company that can sell cookies that look like the picture in the registration. This is true FOREVER unless PF ceases to sell cookies that look like this, or does a few other things that can invalidate the registration. Same is true for Corning (owns the exclusive right to sell pink insulation) and Christian Laboutin (owns the exclusive right to sell shoes with red soles), etc.
So – aspiring business owners – think about your trademarks. They can make you and your descendants very wealthy (assuming the product/service that is provided is valued by customers . . .). And they are so much cheaper to get than patents.
