Trademark Infringement And Unfair Competition 15 U.S.C. § 1125 Lawsuit Filed By Lawyers To Protect DuPont’s USPTO Registered Trademark

Santa Ana, CA – Trademark lawyers for E.I. Du Pont De Nemours filed a trademark infringement and Lanham Act unfair competition (15 U.S.C. 1125) lawsuit at the Federal District Court in Santa Ana to protect its TEFLON® trademark. The complaint recites the history of DuPont’s discovery of polytetrafluoroethylene (“PTFE”), which is the slippery, chemically inert compound that is used in a wide variety of different products. Since approximately 1944, DuPont adopted the fanciful trademark “Teflon” for its PTFE products and began to sell products under the trademark and also licensed the trademark for others to use. DuPont owns several USPTO trademark registrations for the TEFLON® trademark in several International Classes of goods. All of the registrations are incontenstable under 15 U.S.C. § 1065.

Defendant allegedly sells vehicle polishing and cleaning services that are described as “TEFLON® Polishing” and “TEFLON® Shine.” The complaint alleges that Defendant’s products do not contain genuine DuPont TEFLON® fluoropolymer. DuPont allegedly contacted the defendant and asked it to stop use of the mark, but defendant refused, thereby necessitating the lawsuit. The case is titled E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. v. Tropic Shield, Inc., SACV08-00252 CJC (C.D. Cal. 2008).