Brougham v. Blanton Mfg Co

• Decision Date: 21 April 1919
• Docket Number: No. 247,247
• Citation: 63 L.Ed. 725,39 S.Ct. 363,249 U.S. 495
• Parties: BROUGHAM et al. v. BLANTON MFG. CO
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

249 U.S. 495

39 S.Ct. 363

63 L.Ed. 725

BROUGHAM et al.

v BLANTON MFG. CO.

No. 247.

Argued March 19, 1919.

Decided April 21, 1919.

Mr. Assistant Attorney General Frierson, for appellants.

Mr. Shepard Barclay, of St. Louis, Mo., for appellee.

Mr. Justice McKENNA delivered the opinion of the Court.

Appellants are officers of the Department of Agriculture charged with the administration of the meat inspection acts. The appellee, Blanton Manufacturing Company, is a manufacturer of oleomargarine and brought this suit against appellants to enjoin and restrain them from interfering with it in the use of the word 'Creamo' as a trademark in the manufacture and sale of its product and the use of that mark upon packages of its product shipped from St. Louis in interstate commerce.

The District Court granted the injunction and its decree was affirmed by the Circuit Court of Appeals. 243 Fed. 503, 156 C. C. A. 201.

As a ground of suit and recovery the company relies upon the following facts and they express, in a general way, its contentions. To what extent they should be modified will be apparent as we proceed.

The company is a manufacturer of oleomargarine, having a factory at St. Louis, Mo., which comprises a group of buildings specially arranged and equipped for the purpose of such manufacture and where the company has made an investment of many thousands of dollars. Its product has been sold in packages of various sizes, marked with a trade label or stencil adopted for that purpose, which trade-mark is the word 'Creamo,' used since 1904. Its trade has become extensive and valuable, its product has acquired a high reputation and become a source of profit, increasing yearly, and an interruption in the use of its trade-mark and label would cause serious injury in a sum exceeding $5,000.

January 6, 1908, the company applied to the United States Patent Office for the registration of 'Creamo' as a trade-mark, it was duly registered June 9, 1908, and the company has since enjoyed the use of it and made contracts with dealers under it, and the company's oleomargarine is known to its customers far and wide by that label, trade name and mark.

In 1906, after the enactment of the act of June 30, 1906 (34 Stat. 669, c. 3913 [Comp. St. § 8682]), concerning the inspection of 'meat and meat food products,' the company was informed by the Bureau of Animal Industry that its [the company's] plant would be subject to inspection under the act of Congress. The company objected but yielded to avoid controversy and hazard to its interest, and an inspector was installed. The company, however, contends that its manufacture of oleomargarine is not subject to the power and authority of the bureau.

The Secretary of Agriculture, in 1907, approved the company's trade-mark of 'Creamo,' and upon the faith of the approval the company has used the same and by expenditure of large sums of money has extended its popularity and publicity; but, notwithstanding, Dr. Brougham [one of the appellants] threatened the company that from and after March 1, 1914, its use would not be allowed and that the inspector in the extablishment of the company would enforce the threat and attempt to prevent the use of the trade-mark and label.

The trade-mark is duly registered in the office of the Secretary of State of the State of Missouri.

Some of the contentions of the company are somewhat difficult to handle—indeed, to get at in separation. One of these is that the Bureau of Animal Industry has no authority or power over the company's product, its manufacture or market. The basis of the contention is that the food products indicated by 'the meat inspection act do not include a food product bearing the trade-name 'oleomargarine,' prescribed by a special revenue law to be used in the sale thereof, and that statutory name is not 'false or deceptive' when so used.' And for the contention the company relies on Homer v. Collector, 1 Wall. 486, 17 L. Ed. 688, and Chew Hing Lung v. Wise, 176 U. S. 156, 20 Sup. Ct. 320, 44 L. Ed. 412. The further contention is that section 6 of the Oleomargarine Act (Act Aug. 2, 1886, c. 840, 24 Stat. 210 [Comp. St. § 6218]) requires the article to be packed in a particular way which is not the same as that prescribed by the meat inspection act and was in force before the latter was enacted, and therefore excluded 'an article like this oleomargarine having a 'trade-name by law." And yet again that the Food and Drugs Act (Act June 30, 1906, c. 3915, 34 Stat. 768 [Comp. St. §§ 8717-8728]), which is 'in pari materia, enacts that articles of food containing no poisonous or deleterious ingredients shall not be deemed misbranded' which shall thereafter be known as articles of food under their own distinctive names and not offered for sale under the distinctive name of another article if the name be accompanied on the same label or brand by the name of the place where manufactured or produced. And it is said that the company's oleomargarine bears that statutory trade-name and hence should not be considered misbranded. United States v. Coca Cola Co., 241 U. S. 265, 36 Sup. Ct. 573, 60 L. Ed. 995, Ann. Cas. 1917C, 487, is adduced to support the contention. We do not consider it necessary to follow the company's argument in detail. It is rather involved. We disagree with it. In other words, we are of opinion that the meat inspection act is applicable. This was the decision of the Circuit Court of Appeals. The company's oleomargarine is a meat product, compounded, among other things, of oleo oil and neutral lard.¹ Besides, it is not sold under the name of oleomargarine alone; there is the qualifying addition of the word 'Creamo,' and used, as we shall hereafter see, to qualify and distinguish it from other combinations which might bear the designation oleomargarine.

We pass to the consideration of the meat inspection acts of June 30, 1906, and March 4, 1907 (34 Stat. 669, c. 3913 [Comp. St. § 8682]; 34 Stat. 1260 [Comp. St. § 8681]). They require an inspection of all meat and meat food products prepared for interstate and foreign commerce and provide that no persons or firm or corporation shall offer for transportation, and no carrier shall transport in interstate...