A. J. Reach Company v. Simmons Hardware Company
| Decision Date | 21 February 1911 |
| Citation | 135 S.W. 503,155 Mo.App. 412 |
| Parties | A. J. REACH COMPANY, Respondent, v. SIMMONS HARDWARE COMPANY, Appellant |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Appeal from St. Louis City Circuit Court.--Hon. Hugo Muench, Judge.
AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED AND REMANDED IN PART.
STATEMENT.--This in an injunction suit brought to restrain defendant from manufacturing and vending its baseballs in imitation of the baseballs manufactured and vended by plaintiff, and from labeling, branding and stamping its baseballs with the words "Official American League." In its petition the plaintiff alleges "that under the terms of written agreements entered into by it, with the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs," . . . "known to the public as the 'American League,' it has had continuously since the organization of said league and now has the exclusive right and privilege to manufacture and furnish all the baseballs used by said 'American League' and the baseball clubs composing it;" that plaintiff vends said baseballs to the public; "that in manufacturing and vending said baseballs it used a red and blue thread in stitching on the covers of said baseballs, and places on said balls the following label, brand or stamp to-wit: 'Official American League Ball,' as a trade-mark or trade-name to indicate that it is the official baseball of said 'American League.'" That defendant manufactures and vends to the public baseballs which are stitched with red and blue thread in imitation of the baseballs manufactured and vended by plaintiff, and which are practically identical in appearance to the baseballs manufactured and vended by plaintiff, and which bear the following false, fraudulent, misleading, deceptive and imitative label, brand and stamps, to-wit: 'Official American League.'" "That the defendant well knows plaintiff's exclusive right and privilege to manufacture and vend the official baseball of said 'American League' but defendant for the purpose of falsely and fraudulently deceiving and misleading the public and to cheat, defraud and damage plaintiff and injure plaintiff's rights, it stitches, manufactures and labels brands and stamps its baseball as aforesaid." "That defendant threatens to continue and is still continuing the wrongful and unlawful act aforesaid, although requested by plaintiff to desist therefrom," etc.
In addition to a general denial and certain allegations of fact relied upon by defendant as justification of the use by it of the words "Official American League" which are not necessary to be set forth, defendant's answer proceeds as in the nature of a cross-bill, alleging that by reason of its prior registration of the word "American" as a trade-mark, and prior adoption and use of the words "American League" as applied to baseballs, it has the exclusive right and privilege of using said words "American League" as applied to baseballs and prays that plaintiff be enjoined from using them in that connection.
The trial court found that both plaintiff and defendant have an equal right to the use of the words "American League" as applied to baseballs, and denied defendant's prayer that plaintiff be restrained from using them. It did, however, restrain the defendant from using the word "official" in combination with the words "American League." Defendant has appealed and now contends that the decree was erroneous in both of the particulars just mentioned. The case was tried and submitted upon an agreed statement of facts, supplemented only by the introduction in evidence of the respective baseballs of the parties, together with their wrappings or boxes, indicating the manner in which such baseballs were offered to the public for sale and sold. These balls, etc. are before us for our inspection.
The facts necessary to an understanding of this opinion, as disclosed by the agreed statement of facts and the exhibits may be briefly stated as follows: The plaintiff is a manufacturer and dealer in baseballs. The defendant is a dealer in baseballs. The plaintiff's baseball contains on its cover the words "Official American League" and a circular design enclosing the word "Reach" and the words "Trade-mark." From what we will say concerning lack of similarity in the balls, we will not more definitely describe plaintiff's ball, and will be equally limited in our description of defendant's ball when we come to it. The wrapper or box containing plaintiff's ball consists of a pasteboard box, the general color tone of the outside of which is a green background covered by a pattern composed of a number of small reproductions of the Reach trade-mark. On one face of the outside of the box there is what looks like a label printed in red ink on a white background, reading:
On the opposite face of the box there appears what looks like a label printed in red ink on a white background, and consisting of a large copy of the Reach trade-mark. On one of the two ends of the box which open there is printed in red ink on a white background, on the upper flap, the words:
And on the lower flap, at the upper edge, the words:
To close the box, a strip of paper is pasted around the box in such a way as to close the two ends which open, which paper is divided into four sections. Section 1 contains a copy of the trade-mark as it appears stamped on the ball. Section 2 bears the words, printed in blue ink:
and in red ink:
"AMERICAN LEAGUE"
Section 3 contains the words:
"The Reach Official American League Baseball," enclosed in an ornamental sign, a reproduction of the trade-mark being at each corner of the sign.
Section 4 bears the following:
The defendant's ball has stamped on it the words "S. H. Co.'s Official American League."
The package or box in which the defendant's ball is offered for sale and sold consists of a pastboard box, the outside of which is a plain background colored bright red, having no design upon the background. The printing on the box itself is all in plain black. On one side are the words:
On one of the ends which open, on the upper flap, are the words:
And on the bottom flap:
The box is closed by a strip of white paper covering the ends which open, and bearing in blue letters the following inscriptions--in one panel, on one side:
In another panel: "American Baseball Goods" in a circle and surrounding a large monogram "S. H. Co." In another panel:
In another panel a representation of the American flag on a baseball as a back ground, with the words "Trade-mark".
Each party has spent large sums of money in advertising its ball, stamped, enclosed and marked as aforesaid, and the business of each in the sale of baseballs so stamped, etc., has been and is extensive in various parts of the United States in the same territory and promises to continue to be so unless restrained. There is no such similarity in the appearance of the balls or their packages or boxes as could possibly deceive a purchaser, desiring a ball of one, into buying a ball of the other. Whatever similarity there is in color, form and texture appears to be merely incident to the proper manufacture of baseballs of high grade and tasteful appearance.
In baseball parlance, a baseball "league" is a voluntary association of baseball clubs. At all the times we are concerned with there have been a great many of these "leagues" in the United States, some professional, some non-professional. A "league" baseball is any high grade baseball.
"Official" as applied to a baseball indicates that the ball has been adopted by some baseball league.
It seems to be the practice or custom of baseball leagues to adopt some particular baseball or several baseballs as the so-called "official" ball or balls, with which games played by the clubs constituting such leagues may be played, the purpose being to secure uniformity in the games through the use of the standard ball thus adopted. It seems also to be the practice of manufacturers and dealers in high grade baseballs of the kind termed "league balls" to have their ball adopted by some league and then call their ball an "Official League Ball." Thus a ball of the Victor Sporting Goods Co. is called "Official Victor League Ball;" the ball of the Draper & Maynard Co. is called "Official League Ball"; the ball of H. Harwood & Sons is called "Keefe Official Players League Ball", also "Becannon Official League Ball"; the ball of Wm. Wood is called "Official League Ball."
Since the year 1892 and up to the year 1900 the defendant produced advertised and sold some ten thousand dozen baseballs bearing the words "American League" and has continuously since that year manufactured, advertised and sold baseballs bearing those words. In 1894 it had the word "American" registered as its trade-mark, as applied to baseballs, under the provisions of the Missouri statutes. Up to the year 1900, there was no league of baseball clubs known as the "American League." In the...
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