Sausage brand cleared of infringement in meaty battle

Food processing company Tyson has won a  case brought against it by a rival over its ‘Park’s Finest’ range of sausages.

Parks, which also sells a range of meats, initially filed the complaint for trademark infringement at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in February 2015.

It claimed that Tyson’s  use of ‘Park’s Finest’ for the name of the range was intended to “pre-empt” Parks and replace it as the recognised owner of the common law ‘Parks’ trademark for processed-meat products.

Parks was seeking an injunction, court costs and attorneys’ fees.

In May 2016, District Judge Joseph Leeson struck down the claims, in a decision that Parks then appealed against and was brought before the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia.

The appeals court filed its opinion under seal, but affirmed the district court judgment.

It stated: “It is hereby ordered by this court that the order of the district court entered May 10, 2016 is hereby affirmed. The parties to bear their own costs.”

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