9 Bosw. 192 | The Superior Court of New York City | 1862
Lead Opinion
That the judgment is just, on the facts found, I regard as free from serious doubt. I think the evidence warrants the findings. The only finding of fact, in respect to which there can be any doubt of the sufficiency of the evidence to justify it, is the fifth.
That finding states, that the defendants well knew that the plaintiff used the word “Cocoaire” as their trademark, and to indicate that the compound on which it was impressed, was their manufacture, and that the defendants fraudulently used the word “ Coedine” to induce the public to believe that the compound of their preparation, was in fact that of the plaintiffs, and that in this regard their attempt to deceive the public and defraud the plaintiffs has been successful.
Ho one can readily believe, that an enterprising manufacturer of, and dealer in perfumery, and who had been selling at wholesale and at retail since June, 1852, every kind of perfumery, had failed to observe the advertisements of “ Burnett''s COCOAIHE” which were extensively published in the summer of 1857, in the City of Hew York, the defendant’s place of business, in the Herald, Tribune, Times, Evening Post, Express, Sun, Harper’s and Leslie’s Weekly, as well as in other papers, or that he was ignorant of the existence in the market, of an article thus advertised, and sold in New York, by A. D. & C. Sands, Lazell, Marsh & Hand, Hegeman & Co., Barnes & Park, E. C. Hell & Co., Carey, Howard & Sanger, I or T. Maxwell, Schieffelin Brothers, and many others, and the sales of which had increased from 500 dozen bottles in the six months commencing July 1, 1857, to 1,500 dozen in the second six months, and in the next six months to 300 dozen more.
Even if he had denied on oath that he had heard of the article; or, if having heard of it, that he was aware that this article of the plaintiffs’ manufacture was, or had become known to the public, by the word “Cocoaene,” it would require some credulity to credit it. But he makes no such denial, and there is no evidence opposed to deducing such inferences as would be naturally drawn from the testimony to which I have referred.
But this is not all. The defendants, according to their
And there cannot reasonably be assigned any other motive than the one stated in the fifth finding of facts.
The fact that Leopold Simon, (the defendants’ chemist, who entered into their employment about the first of March, 1858, and who, prior to that time, had followed the business of a chemist in Paris,) had never heard of the word Cocoaine until after he “composed” the name Cocoine, does not, in my view, tend to show the absence of a fraudulent intent in the defendants.
The defendants had been “frequently experimenting “with cocoanut oil, and selling” it since 1840, and selling it as a preparation of hair oil. , It was a simple matter to get up a label, and impress on it, and on the bottles containing their compound, the word “ Cocoaine,” omitting one letter only. But no plausible or rational explanation, except an intent to defraud, could be given of a transaction as bold as that would be. It was, undoubtedly, deemed wiser to instruct the chemist to compose a name, somewhat indicative of the substantial ingredient of the compound, without informing him of the fact that Burnett was manufacturing and selling largely a similar article, which was known as “Oocoaine.”
The reputation of the defendants may, justly, be assumed to be extended, creditable and valuable. They had used it, and had experienced all the benefit that eighteen years’ employment of it, in connection with their preparation and sale of cocoanut hair oil, could give to their compound.
Burnett, by great outlay and effort, had succeeded in creating an extensive demand for his own manufacture,
It seems to me, therefore, that the judgment cannot be reversed on the ground that this finding is contrary to evidence.
That the plaintiffs are entitled to the relief of an injunction against such a use of their trade-mark, on the facts found, I do not understand to be disputed. The cases cited, on the points of either counsel, establish that they are. (See Upton’s Trade-Marks, 180-185.)
That the plaintiffs recovered only nominal damages, considering the circumstances under which they were so assessed, I regard as of but little moment.
I think the judgment should be affirmed.
Moecriee, Justice, concurred in this opinion.
Dissenting Opinion
The principle adopted by the learned Judge at Special Term, in deciding this case, was one of which I had occasion to approve in the case of Corwin v. Daily, recently decided in this Court, (7 Bosw., 222,) and is fully sustained by all the cases. It is that a manufacturer of, or dealer in, any article, has a right to designate them as being made or sold by him, by a mark, or device, formed of a combination of letters, (such as Cocoaine,) not constituting a word in any language, and that no other person has a right to use the same mark, or device, by an immaterial change, such as omitting a single letter, (as in Cocome,) so as to induce the unwary public to believe that the articles made or sold by the counterfeiters are the same as those of the original inventor of the mark.
If, however, it should appear, as is contended in this case on the part of the defendants, that the device used by them to indicate their. manufactures, is a word either actually in use to express the nature,- component parts, quality, or use of the article, or capable of being formed, according to the analogy of language, from other words, as
It is somewhat remarkable, in this case, that the result of the report of the Keferee, is that the plaintiffs have sustained no damage, and the defendants made no profits, hitherto, by their' invasion of the plaintiffs* mark, and, to that extent, the basis of any equitable jurisdiction is taken away. I had occasion, in the case already adverted to, to trace the origin of the doctrine of trade-marks to the common liability of every one who palmed off upon the public his commodities as those of another man, to the deceived customer, and, indirectly, the supplanted competitor,. Equity seized on jurisdiction to prevent repetitions of the wrong, and, with its customary eagerness to amplify such jurisdiction and model the relief granted by it to every phase of such wrong, created the doctrine of what are called trade-marks. In doing so it has nearly established a common law copyright, of perpetual duration, permitting an injunction without a trial at law, calling upon the defendant for an account of his profits, and even attempting to reach what are claimed to be instruments prepared for future, fraud. This may be a very healthful jurisdiction, but, without great pare, its searching character may be made an instrument of wrong. Much is said of the injustice of allowing one man to. avail himself of the skill and
The learned Judge who refused a new trial in this case upon the newly discovered evidence, was undoubtedly correct in considering such evidence as merely cumulative, if the fact that Cocoine was a word known and in use before the adoption of the word Cocoaine by the plaintiffs, was a subject of conflicting evidence before the Court at Special Term, and material, on the original trial of the issues in this action. But, in reality, there was no conflicting evidence, and either the testimony on the first trial failed to make out the prior or proper use of Cocoine, as indicating something connected with cocoanut oil, or the learned Judge on such trial must have held that such use and connection was immaterial, and that no one had a right to use any word as a device for his commodities which resembled a combination of letters which formed no word, adopted by another, if he did it with intent to have them mistaken for each other; and that there was evidence of such intent in this case. That learned Judge, who does not agree with
It is plain that the plaintiffs could not prevent the honest application by the public of the term Oocoine to an extract of cocoanut oil, or anything of which it was the principal ingredient, or the sale of such commodity by that name. The question therefore arises whether the defendants could anticipate the innocent application of such name to such commodity by the public, and employ it with intent to divert the plaintiffs’ custom. After such name became honestly public property, and publicly known, the plaintiffs would certainly no longer rely upon a word so near it as Oocoaine to protect themselves against the danger of confusion of the two articles; but until some honest motive made the. application proper, they had a right to rely on protection against the dishonest adoption of the term merely to injure them.
I am, however, by no means satisfied that the evidence in this case warranted the finding, that the defendants adopted the term Oocoine with intent to have the public believe that it was the same article as the plaintiffs’. The cause of reasoning by which the learned Judge, before whom the issues were tried, arrived at that conclusion, was simply this :• that the plaintiffs had advertised extensively their adoption of the term Oocoaine; that the defendant must have known such advertisements, because he did not deny knowledge of them on his examination as a witness; and that, knowing them, his adoption of a word so nearly alike must be held to be in bad faith. The chemist employed by the defendants swears that, being employed by the latter, he invented the name spontaneously; that he consulted many authorities before he did. so, and had not heard of Oocoaine as the plaintiffs’’ trade-mark, and his testimony is uncontradicted. It»,was- the- business of the plaintiffs to make out bad faith affirmatively. Nothing can be inferred from a party, when on the stand as a witness, not volunteering, to deny knowledge of a notice. It was the duty of the plaintiffs to-have brought such know- •
For this reason alone I think there ought to be a new trial, as the question of good faith is vital to the plaintiffs’ right to interfere, particularly in a case of this kind where the word used by the defendants was appropriate to the article sold, was formed by a French chemist according to the analogies of the French language, and without knowledge of the plaintiffs’ trade-mark.
There appears, besides, to be an addition to the use of the word Coeoine in the defendants’ labels, besides the diaeresis over the “ i,” which should protect them either altogether or else in some degree from the charge of bad faith; the labels exhibited, and it is so charged in the complaint, have the name of the defendants’ firm prefixed to that title, thus showing the origin of the article sold, and this, in several cases, cited in Corwin v. Daly, (ubi supra,) has been held sufficient, unless some device is used to prevent its being noticed by the public. The value of such an addition in notifying the public as to the real manufacturer of the article sold, can be better determined on a new trial, by inspection. Ho notice seems to have been taken of it on the former one.
The judgment should therefore be reversed, and a new trial had, with costs, to abide the event.
Judgment affirmed.