Mister Softee is no soft touch as suit against former licensee dismissed
Ice cream truck franchisor Mister Softee has reached a settlement with former licensee Carl Gallucci.
On Thursday, August 31, the case was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice. Judge Renee Marie Bumb of the US District Court for the District of Jersey signed the order.
An injunctive order from the court was handed down on August 18, ordering that Gallucci must immediately stop using Mister Softee trademarks and provide a report to Mister Softee to prove he had done so.
The order stated that any failure to adhere to the ruling could result in civil or criminal contempt.
As reported by WIPR in July, the case stems from a complaint in which Mister Softee claimed that the former licensee had stopped paying his licence fee in February this year.
Gallucci had entered into a licensing agreement to use the Mister Softee trademarks, related logos and the Mister Softee musical jingle in 2012.
“Because the defendant is no longer affiliated with Mister Softee, Mister Softee has no ability to ensure that defendant is storing and dispensing his ice cream and other food products in compliance with applicable health standards and laws,” said the suit.
Mister Softee owns the trademarks ‘Mister Softee’ and related logos, which are registered at the US Patent and Trademark Office (numbers 2,128,918; 0,667,335; and 0,663,456).
The ice cream truck franchisor also owns the Mister Softee musical jingle, under registration number 2,218,017, and the mark ‘Conehead’, which refers to the Mister Softee cartoon logo of an ice cream cone with a smiling face and bow tie.
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