Gluten-free group drops case against Jamie Oliver
A gluten-free awareness group has dismissed (pdf) a trademark infringement case against British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.
The plaintiff, the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America ( GIG), requested dismissal of the case yesterday, February 12, at the US District Court for the Western District of Washington. The dismissal was granted the same day.
Washington-based GIG sued Oliver in July last year, claiming trademark infringement, counterfeiting and unfair competition.
GIG dismissed the claim in September 2017, before filing another trademark infringement case against Oliver, alleging that Oliver’s use of the ‘GF’ identification in some of his recipes to signify that they are gluten-free infringes on GIG’s trademarks.
GIG owns several ‘GF’ signs which certify that a product is gluten-free. Last year, GIG filed for a ‘Certified gluten-free food service’ trademark—a logo made up of a circle with the letters “GF” inside, a knife and fork on either side, the words “Certified gluten-free” on top, and the words “Food service” underneath.
According to the plaintiff, Oliver had not sought any form of gluten-free certification from entities in either the US or UK.
The group said: “Through use of a mark identical of substantially similar to plaintiff’s gluten-free certification marks, defendants attempt to affiliate themselves, their food programmes and recipes with plaintiff.”
It was alleged that Oliver’s use of the ‘GF’ sign attempted to mislead the public into believing that his food-related programmes and recipes had been certified as gluten-free.
The group sought an injunction to stop the chef from using the mark, a recall of infringing products and an order requiring Oliver to publish a notice disclaiming any connection with GIG.
GIG advocates for the gluten-free community and offers support and education in the area of gluten-free diets.
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