Trace Minerals Research claims victory in trademark case
feuding dietary supplement companies - Trace Minerals Research
(TMR) and Mineral Resources International (MRI).
The US District Court for the District of Utah ruled that MRI committed trademark infringement and unfair competition by continuing to use trademarks owned by TMR after the company allegedly terminated its license agreement with MRI in March 2005. The decision highlights a contentious issue in the dietary supplement industry where intellectual property and trademarks are the bread and butter of manufacturers. "The decision vindicates TMR's intellectual property rights and we intend to vigorously pursue TMR's claims for damages against MRI and other parties that wrongfully used the TMR trademarks after the license was terminated in March 2005," said TMR's legal representative Mark Callister of Callister, Nebeker and McCullough. The court ruled that MRI violated the license agreement "on several occasions" after TMR terminated its license, including when it used what is allegedly TMR's trademark ConcenTrace. TMR had filed the lawsuit citing trademark infringement and misuse of intellectual property.
