Perfetti Van Melle USA v. Cadbury Adams USA LLC

On behalf of our client Cadbury Adams USA LLC--maker of the famous DENTYNE brand of chewing gum--we defeated a motion for a preliminary injunction brought by Perfetti Van Melle USA in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The motion sought to block the launch of Cadbury's new breath purifying gum, DENTYNE PURE, on the grounds that the name DENTYNE PURE was confusingly similar to Perfetti's MENTOS PURE FRESH and MENTOS PURE WHITE names used for Perfetti's breath freshening gum. Perfetti also owned federal trademark registrations for MENTOS PURE FRESH and PURE WHITE. After a two day evidentiary hearing the Court denied the motion, holding that Perfetti was "unlikely to prevail on the merits of its claims."