MEDCO PRODUCTS COMPANY v. MEDCO HOSPITAL SUPPLY CORP.
| Decision Date | 18 July 1968 |
| Docket Number | No. 66 C 1972.,66 C 1972. |
| Parties | MEDCO PRODUCTS COMPANY, Inc., Plaintiff, v. MEDCO HOSPITAL SUPPLY CORP., a Corporation, Leonard T. Fript and John M. Mills, Individuals, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
Carlton Hill, James Van Santen, Hill, Sherman, Meroni, Gross & Simpson, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff.
George L. Siegel, Irwin I. Zatz, Arvey, Hodes & Mantynband, Maurice S. Cayne, Chicago, Ill., for defendants.
This cause came on to be heard upon the Complaint of plaintiff, Medco Products Company, Inc., wherein said corporation charged that it was the owner of the trademark "MEDCO" and that it suffered damage to its goodwill and reputation arising out of the infringement of said trademark by defendant, Medco Hospital Supply Corp., and two of its founding officers named as individual defendants, John M. Mills and Leonard T. Fript.
The court heard and evaluated the testimony of witnesses and received documentary evidence. It heard the oral argument of counsel for the parties, has taken briefs, and now is fully advised in the premises.
There is no dispute over the fact that plaintiff is the owner of the duly registered trademark "MEDCO" with several variations and that it has established a common law right to use the term as a trademark. The only question is the validity thereof.
Defendants admitted that plaintiff is the owner of a trademark "MEDCO" but denied the validity thereof and each and every one of the charges. Defendant further asserted that the word "MEDCO" was a widely used term and that it was used in the corporate name of a number of corporations throughout the United States. Defendants specifically denied that Medco Hospital Supply Corp. sold the same line of goods or in any way competed with plaintiff.
The term "MEDCO" is unique and is not found in any English dictionary. It is a composite word taken from the first three letters (med) of medicine or medical with the addition of two letters (co) that ordinarily stand for company, thus giving to it a characteristic of a company doing business in products of the medical field.
The plaintiff has so used the term "MEDCO" since 1934 and has been the only company in the United States using it for that purpose in any substantial manner. The evidence demonstrated that there are and have been a number of instances in which the term has been used locally and for diverse purposes but that there has not been any extensive use of it. The evidence also revealed the plaintiff has been ever ready to protect its name.
The record clearly established that officers of defendant Medco Hospital Supply Corp. knew of the existence of plaintiff's trademark when Medco Hospital Supply Corp. went into business. The evidence further showed that the defendant Medco Hospital Supply Corp. is in competition with plaintiff Medco Products Company, Inc. in the manufacture and sale of products and in calling upon the same customers and that it is using the term "MEDCO" not only as part of its corporate name but also as a symbol in its packaging, advertising and demonstrations at conventions.
The evidence demonstrated to the court's satisfaction that there has been and is confusion resulting from the use of the term "MEDCO" by Medco Hospital Supply Corp. in its corporate name and from the use of it as a symbol similar to the trademark "MEDCO" on its letterheads and on its labels.
The court is of the opinion that the defendants have infringed plaintiff's trademark "MEDCO"; that they have damaged and are continuing to damage the plaintiff by said infringement; and that if said defendants are not enjoined, they will...
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Medco Products Co., Inc. v. C. I. R., 74-1811
...formed in 1946, then dissolved, supplanted by a partnership, and thereafter incorporated in Oklahoma.2 Reported below at 287 F.Supp. 884 (N.D.Ill.1968). ...