Physicians Formula Cosmetics, Inc. v. West Cabot Cosmetics, Inc., 287

• Decision Date: 06 September 1988
• Docket Number: D,No. 287,287
• Citation: 857 F.2d 80
• Parties: PHYSICIANS FORMULA COSMETICS INC., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. WEST CABOT COSMETICS, INC., Defendant-Appellant. ocket 87-7496.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Page 80

857 F.2d 80

8 U.S.P.Q.2d 1136

PHYSICIANS FORMULA COSMETICS INC., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. WEST CABOT COSMETICS, INC., Defendant-Appellant.

No. 287, Docket 87-7496.

United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit.

Argued Oct. 29, 1987.

Decided Sept. 6, 1988.

James E. Daniels, New York City (Jeffrey H. Weinberger, Warshaw Burstein Cohen Schlesinger & Kuh, New York City, of counsel), for defendant-appellant.

Roger E. Podesta, New York City (Bruce P. Keller, Marian W. Payson, Debevoise & Plimpton, New York City, of counsel), for plaintiff-appellee.

Before FEINBERG, Chief Judge, and NEWMAN and WINTER, Circuit Judges.

WINTER, Circuit Judge:

Defendant-appellant West Cabot Cosmetics ("West Cabot") appeals from a grant of summary judgment based on a determination of a likelihood of confusion between West Cabot's "PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS" trademark for skin creams and lotions and appellee's "PHYSICIANS FORMULA" mark used on similar products. Judge Bramwell's opinion is reported at 660 F.Supp. 1222 (E.D.N.Y.1987). We reverse and remand.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff-appellee Physicians Formula Cosmetics, Inc. ("Physicians Formula"), founded in 1937 by Dr. Frank Crandall, markets hypoallergenic skin care and cosmetic products, including several facial creams and lotions. The PHYSICIANS FORMULA trademark was registered with the State of California in 1938 and listed on the Supplemental Register in 1964 and on the Principal Register of the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 1982. At first, Dr. Crandall sold Physicians Formula products principally to his own patients, including Mae West. Business grew and by 1961, when Dr. Crandall's widow sold the company, Physicians Formula products were being distributed under its mark in several hundred retail outlets in California and neighboring states.

In 1970, the company had annual sales of approximately $400,000 through approximately six hundred retail outlets. At that time, Physicians Formula embarked on a substantial effort to increase its sales. Between 1970 and 1985, the company spent more than $6 million on advertising and other promotional activities. By the end of 1985, the year in which its current owner, Tambrands, Inc., purchased Physicians Formula for $8.3 million, sales of over $6 million annually were made through more than two thousand retail outlets in twenty-eight states as well as through the mail in at least twenty more. The company has plans to go nationwide.

The trademark PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS has been used on hard-bar soaps by West Cabot and its predecessors since 1888. The mark was registered for soaps in the Principal Register in 1947. Historically, sales of PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS soaps have been modest, less than $200,000 annually, and have been concentrated in the northeastern United States, particularly New York. In 1981, Sigma Pharmaceutical Corporation, West Cabot's immediate predecessor, began marketing a cocoa butter cream, a Vitamin E cream, and Vitamin E oil under the PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS mark. Sales of these products during Sigma's ownership of the mark reached a peak of approximately $50,000 in 1984, and, like the sales of the hard-bar soaps, were heavily concentrated in the Northeast.

West Cabot acquired Sigma's assets in February 1985 for approximately $300,000. In that year, it dropped two of the three lines of skin creams marketed by Sigma and added four others. Total sales of all Physicians Formula became aware of the registration of PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS for soaps during a trademark search in 1981. However, at that time Physicians Formula was not aware that the PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS mark was being used on skin creams and lotions and therefore did not consider the use of that mark on soap as an infringement on its own mark. In December 1985, Physicians Formula first learned that West Cabot was marketing skin creams and lotions under the PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS mark. After fruitless protests to West Cabot, Physicians Formula filed this action seeking injunctive relief and damages under the Lanham Act, New York General Business Law and common law. West Cabot conceded the validity of the PHYSICIANS FORMULA mark and its predecessors' knowledge of that mark as early as 1965, but denied the infringement claims in all respects. After extensive discovery, Physicians Formula moved for summary judgment.

PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS products from the date of West Cabot's acquisition of Sigma's assets in February 1985 until December 1986 were approximately $400,000. Skin creams and lotions accounted for approximately one-third of sales. Like Tambrands, West Cabot hoped to expand the marketing of its full line of skin care products nationwide. West Cabot discontinued active promotion of the PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS line in September 1986, however, because of this trademark litigation.

In support of its motion, Physicians Formula contended that: (i) its PHYSICIANS FORMULA mark had acquired secondary meaning; (ii) Physicians Formula's rights to the mark were superior to those of West Cabot because of Physicians Formula's prior use of the mark on skin care products; and (iii) West Cabot's use of the PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS mark created a likelihood of consumer confusion over the source of the product. West Cabot conceded that the PHYSICIANS FORMULA mark had acquired secondary meaning but disputed the prior use and likelihood of confusion. The district court granted summary judgment for Physicians Formula.

DISCUSSION

It is not disputed that Physicians Formula has a protectible interest in its mark. Of the four generally accepted classifications, (1) generic, (2) descriptive, (3) suggestive, or (4) arbitrary or fanciful, see Abercrombie & Fitch Co. v. Hunting World, Inc., 537 F.2d 4, 9-11 (2d Cir.1976), it fits best within the suggestive category. The mark is certainly not generic. Nor is it descriptive, because the mark does little to identify the product other than to locate it in the realm of medicine. That description is sufficient, however, to prevent classification as arbitrary or fanciful. We therefore regard it as suggestive because the impression it conveys falls somewhere between "descriptive" and "fanciful," in that there is some relation between the product's properties and the term, but a consumer is able to identify the genre of product only by using " 'imagination, thought and perception.' " Id. at 11 (quoting Stix Prods., Inc. v. United Merchants & Mfrs., Inc., 295 F.Supp. 479, 488 (S.D.N.Y.1968)). Like fanciful and arbitrary marks, "suggestive" marks may be registered without proof of secondary meaning. Id. Of course, the existence of a secondary meaning--public identification of the mark with the producer--is conceded in this case. West Cabot's principal contention on appeal ¹ is that the use of the PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS mark does not create a likelihood of consumer confusion, or at least that there is a genuine issue of fact over that question.

In determining likelihood of confusion in a trademark infringement case, we examine the following factors:

the strength of [the prior owner's] mark, the degree of similarity between the two marks, the proximity of the products, the likelihood that the prior owner will bridge the gap, actual confusion, and the reciprocal of defendant's good faith in adopting its own mark, the quality of defendant's product, and the sophistication of the buyers.

Polaroid Corp. v. Polarad Electronics Corp., 287 F.2d 492, 495 (2d Cir.1961), cert. denied, 368 U.S. 820, 82 S.Ct. 36, 7 L.Ed.2d 25 (1961). Although the Polaroid test originally was applied to noncompeting products, see id., it has been expanded to apply where, as here, competing goods are involved. Banff, Ltd. v. Federated Dept. Stores, Inc., 841 F.2d 486, 490 (2d Cir.1988); Vitarroz v. Borden, Inc., 644 F.2d 960, 965-67 (2d Cir.1981).

Addressing the Polaroid factors in turn, the district court found that, based on its "suggestive" character when applied to skin care products and on its highly successful use, the PHYSICIANS FORMULA mark possessed "at least moderate strength." 660 F.Supp. at 1227. Second, the court found that although the two marks were visually dissimilar, they "are substantially similar in sound and meaning," because they share the dominant first word "Physicians" and are intended to suggest medical endorsement. Id. Third, concerning the "proximity of the products," the court found that skin care creams and lotions sold under the two marks were virtually identical and sold in similar stores. Id. Fourth, as to "actual confusion," the court rejected Physicians Formula's survey evidence, concluding that there was "virtually no probative evidence of actual confusion presented." Id. Fifth, because it found Physicians Formula's evidence of West Cabot's bad faith "speculative at best," the district court assumed that, for purposes of deciding the motion, West Cabot had acted in good faith. Id. at 1228. Sixth, the court found no evidence that West Cabot's skin care products were of inferior quality, although it noted that Physicians Formula maintained a superior quality control program. Id. Finally, on the issue of the "sophistication of the buyer," the district court concluded that the products at issue were relatively inexpensive and were bought on impulse or oral recommendation. Id.

The district court then weighed these factors. The district court concluded that at least two--"proximity of...