Goya Food targets parental control app in trademark suit
US brand Goya Food wants a Delaware federal court to order the company behind the Goya-Move parental control app to drop the name.
In a complaint filed yesterday, January 21, Goya Food said it would not “tolerate [other brands] manufacturing turnkey brand recognition for their products by free-riding off the decades of goodwill and consumer recognition” it has developed.
P-ink Ventures, the company behind Goya-Move, was named as a defendant in the suit.
Goya Food, the “largest Hispanic-owned food company in the US”, sells Latin and Hispanic cuisine products, including spices, marinades, and beans.
The brand has spent more than 80 years developing its distinctive brand, the complaint said, and fears that this is now under threat from P-ink Ventures’ app Goya-Move.
According to its website, Goya-Move is a “parental control app that rewards kids with screen time based on completing tasks and steps”.
According to the suit, P-ink Ventures originally dropped a trademark application for “Goya-Move” following an opposition from the food brand, and “expressly represented to the plaintiff through counsel that it would cease use of the confusingly similar mark”.
Despite this undertaking, the company has begun marketing its app under the Goya-Move name, the complaint said.
Goya Food argues that the name is likely to cause confusion as it has also developed a strong reputation in the area of health and wellness.
The food brand cited its sponsorship of Michelle Obama’s ‘ Let’s Move!’ fitness campaign, as well as the US Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate healthy eating initiative.
The company has asked the court to award treble damages and all profits resulting from the use of the ‘Goya-Move’ name.
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