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Clash of soup companies

It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, however in the world of IP, imitating a competitor’s product too closely can have dangerous and unexpected consequences. Recently, this proved to be the case in the unexpected word of soup. Campbells is a world-famous American brand founded in New Jersey in 1869. They are most associated with their soup products, which became particularly famous in 1962 when Andy Warhol made his series of canvases of Campbells tomato soup which are considered icons of the modern pop art movement. As would therefore be expected, Campbells are well known for such products, which feature a single horizontal red and white stripe bearing the name “Campbells” and the name of the soup product.

Across the Hudson River in New York, it is alleged by Campbells that Jane Foodie, a Yonkers based firm knowingly copied the iconic design in order to promote their own range of canned soup and sauce products. The basis of the allegations was that both Campbells soup and Jane Foodies soup featured “top and bottom panels in contrasting colours and a central circular design.” In addition, both companies have the name of the soup in the lower third of the label and the brand name near the top of the can. Campbells alleges that similarities between the cans of both brands blurs the distinctive quality of the Campbells soup brand and that the brand was decreased in value and reputation.

The case was filed in Camden Federal Court on 6 December and judgement was delivered on 24 December 2024. The Federal Court ordered Jane Foodie to cease immediate products with the can design, cease any advertising and marketing materials using the offending design by 1 January 2025, remove all online images and content using the design by 1 February 2025 and cease all sales of products using this can by 1 April 2025. This was a complete victory for the Campbells brand and shows the vital importance of protecting IP in all settings, even in the kitchen!

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