NEWS RELEASE
November 7, 2007
(Westfield, NJ)

Contact:
Ray Janeczek
Direct Dial: 908.518.6369 or
rjaneczek@ldlkm.com

Ecce Panis, inc. v. Maple Leaf Foods USA, inc., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85780 (D. Ariz. Nov. 7, 2007).  Plaintiff Ecce Panis, which markets "artisan" breads, brought an action against our client Maple Leaf Foods alleging trade dress infringement in connection with packaging using a European motif for a competing line of breads.  After the plaintiff moved for a preliminary injunction, the court conducted a two-day evidentiary hearing and subsequently issued a decision denying the requested injunction. Noting that the plaintiff's trade dress contained functional elements, the court concluded that the plaintiff had not shown that a likelihood of confusion existed between the two competing products, based upon dissimilarities in the trade dress, the absence of intentional copying, and the failure of the plaintiff's survey to demonstrate actual confusion.