Mixed Chicks LLC v. Sally Beauty Supply LLC, United States District Court for the Central District of California, Southern Division
Won a jury verdict for trademark and trade dress infringement against Sally Beauty Supply for a total of $8,114,535 in actual and punitive damages on behalf of Mixed Chicks LLC, maker of the MIXED CHICKS® line of premium hair care products. Within 30 days of the jury verdict the defendant chose to settle the case by paying Mixed Chicks $8.5 million. The defendant was represented by an AmLaw 100 firm throughout the case. Both sides presented likelihood of confusion survey testimony of nationally-known survey experts at trial.
IP Enforcement on Social Networking Site
Our client discovered a phony advertisement and "joke" bearing the client's name and logo and being displayed on a Facebook group page. The content was in extremely poor taste, mocking the victims of a natural disaster. Even worse, the majority of other images and content posted to this public Facebook group page was blatantly racist. Using take-down procedures available through Facebook and by directly contacting representatives with whom we have had prior dealings at Facebook, we successfully and quickly removed the content incorporating our client's name and logo from all relevant Facebook pages.
Product Clearance - Retail
Our client wished to launch a new footwear item in a highly competitive space. One of the industry leaders in this space had recently filed many lawsuits against third parties due to what it perceived as infringement of its patent and trade dress rights. We worked very closely – nearly every day for approximately seven months – with our client, including its legal, product design, and buying teams. We cleared a footwear design that was viable from both legal and marketing perspectives. Haynes and Boone also ultimately issued trade dress and design patent clearance and opinion letters to the client in connection with this review.
Successful Trade Dress Enforcement - Food and Beverage
One of our client’s liqueurs, an award-winning and extremely popular brand, faced competition from a newly-launched product. The appearance of this new product’s bottle shape, product packaging, and marketing materials featured several similar characteristics to those of our client’s. We sent multiple demand letters to the competitor and its counsel, advising of our client’s trade dress and trademark rights. To escalate the matter, we proceeded to file suit in Illinois. After months of hard-fought litigation, the parties settled with the competitor agreeing to modify its packaging to further distinguish it from that of our client’s product.
Trade Dress, Trademarks - Retail
A buyer for a retail company would be selecting new footwear to stock its shelves for an upcoming season. Before the buyer's selection would occur, however, each potential product was to be legally reviewed for any intellectual property concerns. As it turned out, the company had several hundred products to be reviewed in within an approximately two-week timeframe. Working night and day with our client contacts and other outside counsel, at the client's offices, we provided thorough analysis and clearance of hundreds of footwear designs. The designs were carefully reviewed for intellectual property issues such as those bearing on trade dress, trademarks, and patents. Ultimately, the buyer purchased nearly one hundred and fifty designs from the larger group of designs deemed legally clear by counsel.