Jury sides with CLP Feeds in trademark dispute

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Although a federal court jury on July 10 sided with a family-owned feed manufacturer in its trademark infringement lawsuit against Land O'Lakes, the case is far from put to rest.

Ron and Kathy Treiber, owners of Cache La Poudre Feeds in north Fort Collins, will be back in court in Denver on Aug. 24 to convince the judge they really should have a share of Land O'Lakes profits from the multi-billion-dollar company's use of the Profile feed brand. The jury thought so and recommended an award of $14.6 million.

The jury also awarded the local feed company $551,639 in damages, a verdict that stands unless successfully appealed by the Minnesota-based agricultural co-op.

Cache La Poudre Feeds, a 25-year-old business, filed a lawsuit against Land O'Lakes in 2004 after the Minnesota company rebranded its show feed lines with the Profile name, though it was warned the name was already taken. Treiber said Cache La Poudre Feeds can document its use of the Profile name back to 1991, giving it common-law rights to the use of the trademark. Even so, Treiber said, he officially registered the trademark in 2003 and Land O'Lakes filed no objection.

Cache La Poudre Feeds sought damages of $132.8 million. Land O'Lakes filed a countersuit claiming that Cache La Poudre Feeds was infringing on its trademark, but dropped that claim shortly before trial.

The U.S. District Court trial began June 19. At the conclusion, the jury upheld Cache La Poudre's allegations on every count, agreeing that Land O'Lakes had acted willingly and with bad faith in infringing upon the Cache La Poudre trademark. The jury also ruled that Land O'Lakes had engaged in deceptive trade practices and unfair competition.

"I like to think of it as a victory for everybody," Treiber said in an interview at the feed store. "In business, whether you're a big corporation or little bitty like us, we all have to abide by the rules."

District Court Judge Wiley Daniel now has the option to approve, reduce or increase the jury's recommended award for profits made while Land O'Lakes was using the Profile name.

One of Treiber's attorneys, Luke Santangelo, said Land O'Lakes has filed a response that Cache La Poudre Feeds should get nothing because the problem resulted from a lack of internal communication at Land O'Lakes.

"The jury said the opposite," Santangelo noted. "We've filed for an increase" in the jury award.

A larger award, he said, would serve as a deterrence to other companies that might infringe on the intellectual property of small businesses. "These guys are still in denial," Santangelo said. "They just won't accept responsibility."

Thomas French, one of the attorneys for Cache La Poudre Feeds, said testimony at the jury trial demonstrated Land O'Lakes managers knew before they picked the name that Cache La Poudre Feeds was using the Profile trademark.

Some trademark cases are innocent infringements quickly settled out of court, Santangelo said, unlike the dispute with Land O'Lakes. The jury verdict "is good for Colorado because it says nobody can just go grab something that a person or business has worked years to build," he added.

He complimented Treiber for having the gumption to persevere in protecting his trademark.

"Land O'Lakes needs to know that ethical business practices apply to all companies equally," Treiber said. "No one is above the law."

French said there is no time limit set for Judge Wiley to make a decision. Once the judge has issued his final decision, Land O'Lakes could appeal to the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, he noted.