Pfizer Loses $143 Million Trovan Trademark Case
The trial started August 18, and the liability phase ended Sept. 22, after seven hours of deliberation, in a unanimous verdict for Trovan, with the jury finding Pfizer liable for willful, bad faith trademark infringement and unfair competition. U.S. District Court Judge Lourdes G. Baird presided over the case, Trovan Ltd. v. Pfizer Inc. (CV 98-0094 LGB (Mcx)). Baird will rule at a later date on Trovan's claim that it is entitled to the profits Pfizer earned from sales of its Trovan brand antibiotic.
Was Pfizer fooled by transponders' (shown in figure) resemblance to capsules, suppositories, and tablets?
Trovan has used the Trovan trademark since 1989 to market its electronic identification devices, known as transponders, and holds federal trademark registration No. 1649328, issued in 1991 by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. In 1997, Trovan learned that Pfizer was about to introduce and market a new antibiotic named "Trovan," and immediately filed a lawsuit to prevent what it viewed as a trademark infringement. Pfizer nevertheless proceeded to introduce its Trovan antibiotic in 1998. In 1999, Trovan (the antibiotic) was linked to several deaths, and Trovan Ltd. had even more ammunition for its lawsuit. The drug is currently being investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Union, and Ralph Nader's Public Citizen.
"We are pleased with the outcome [of the lawsuit]," said Joseph Masin, president of Electronic Identification Devices Ltd., the exclusive North American distributor and a licensee of Trovan electronic identification products. "It proves that we ‘Davids' can prevail over the ‘Goliaths.' By finding for us, the jury sent Pfizer a clear message that they would not tolerate or excuse bad faith conduct on any level. Regardless of size, a company's reputation is everything. We worked hard to build Trovan into a respectable name long before Pfizer began infringing on our trademark, and protecting that reputation was the impetus behind this lawsuit. It was never about money."
It never is, is it?
Masin added, "With this victory, we can continue to grow our company knowing, once and for all, that Trovan is indisputably ours."
For more information: Joseph Masin, Electronic Identification Devices. Tel: 805-565-1288. Fax: 805-565-1127.