LOS ANGELES – King’s Hawaiian has settled its seventh trade dress lawsuit over packaging that the market-leading manufacturer of Hawaiian sweet bread products alleged infringed its intellectual property rights in its iconic orange packaging.
On Wednesday, September 1, 2021, after agreeing to a confidential settlement with Super Store Industries and Save Mart Supermarkets, King’s Hawaiian dismissed its latest trade dress lawsuit filed in federal court. In the lawsuit, King’s Hawaiian alleged the Sunnyside Farms branded “Hawaiian” roll packaging infringed King’s Hawaiian’s intellectual property rights in the well-known packaging that King’s Hawaiian uses with its famous, beloved Hawaiian sweet dinner rolls.
While the terms of the settlement agreement are confidential, King’s Hawaiian President Chad Donvito said King’s Hawaiian is “pleased with the settlement” and the resolution of the lawsuit. Donvito described the King’s Hawaiian sweet dinner roll packaging as “highly distinctive” and a “core part of the King’s Hawaiian brand image.”
The confidential settlement resolves the lawsuit King’s Hawaiian filed against Super Store Industries in a federal court in Sacramento, California, earlier this year in April. The specific terms and conditions of the agreement are confidential, but King’s Hawaiian confirmed that the Parties have settled the pending litigation and that the Sunnyside Farms packaging at issue in the lawsuit will be changed.
Reiterating the sentiments of his predecessor John Linehan, Donvito shared, “The King’s Hawaiian packaging trade dress is one of our most valuable assets, and something that the family ownership of the company takes great pride in having developed. In order to protect it, we have assembled an excellent legal team to enforce our intellectual property rights in the trade dress.” Donvito added, “We have invested significant time and resources and it is our intent that this legal team will take appropriate action to protect our trade dress any time, in any place, and at any cost.”
King’s Hawaiian has filed and satisfactorily settled similar lawsuits over its distinctive packaging in recent years in federal district courts across the United States against Sprouts Farmer’s Market (2015), Alpha Baking Company (2016), Aldi (2016 and 2019), Pan-O-Gold Baking Company (2018), and Southern Bakeries and Harlan Bakeries (2021). King’s Hawaiian has also resolved other instances of alleged infringement on favorable terms without the need to file a lawsuit in federal court.
For reference
The case against Super Store Industries is King’s Hawaiian Holding Company, Inc., et al. v. Super Store Industries, et al., case number 2:21-cv-00648-KJM-AC, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division.
King’s Hawaiian’s intellectual property enforcement legal team is led by Scott B. Kidman of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP and Brian M. Wheeler of Atkinson Andelson Loya Ruud & Romo.
About King’s Hawaiian: Founded more than 70 years ago in Hilo, Hawaii, by Robert R. Taira, KING’S HAWAIIAN is a family-owned business that for three generations has been dedicated to providing irresistible foods made with Aloha Spirit. A priority for the company is sharing the Hawaiian Way – a uniquely Hawaiian approach to hospitality based on graciousness, generosity, and a commitment to making everyone feel a part of the KING’S HAWAIIAN ‘ohana’ (extended family). KING’S HAWAIIAN makes the #1 branded dinner roll in the United States, along with other great products, including hamburger buns, hot dog buns, sandwich bread and more. The company operates baking facilities in Torrance, California, and Oakwood, Georgia. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.KingsHawaiian.com and follow KING’S HAWAIIAN on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
