CHICAGO — King's Hawaiian announced today that it has settled its latest lawsuit over packaging that the market-leading producer of Hawaiian sweet bread products alleged infringed its intellectual property rights in its well-known orange packaging.
On Tuesday, February 6, King's Hawaiian agreed to a confidential settlement with Minnesota-based Pan-O-Gold Baking Company, arising from King's Hawaiian's lawsuit against the Midwest company regarding the well-known packaging King's Hawaiian uses with its beloved Hawaiian sweet dinner rolls.
"We are very pleased with the settlement and the resolution of the lawsuit," said King's Hawaiian President and Chief Strategy Officer John Linehan.
The settlement will resolve a lawsuit King's Hawaiian filed against Pan-O-Gold in a federal court in Illinois in September 2017. While the specific terms of the agreement are confidential, the Parties have settled the pending litigation for a confidential settlement amount and Pan-O-Gold will be changing its packaging.
"We believe our packaging trade dress is distinctive and famous," Linehan said. "The King's Hawaiian packaging is a very valuable asset to King's Hawaiian and we have assembled an excellent legal team to protect and to enforce our intellectual property rights in the trade dress. We have invested a significant amount of time and resources and it is our intent that this team will vigorously pursue any infringement to our trade dress any time it occurs, in any location it occurs and at any cost."
In the lawsuit, King's Hawaiian alleged Pan-O-Gold was selling sweet Hawaiian rolls in packaging that was confusingly similar to the iconic orange packaging King's Hawaiian uses with its famous Hawaiian sweet dinner rolls. King's Hawaiian filed and settled similar lawsuits over its distinctive packaging in recent years against Sprouts Farmer's Market, Alpha Baking Company, and Aldi. King's Hawaiian settled its lawsuit against Sprouts in 2015 and settled its lawsuits against Alpha Baking Company and Aldi in 2016. Several other instances have been settled without the need to file in Federal Court.
The case against Pan-O-Gold is King's Hawaiian Holding Company, Inc., et al. v. Pan-O-Gold Baking Company, Inc., case number 1:17-cv-06443, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
King's Hawaiian's intellectual property team is led by Scott Kidman of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP and Brian Wheeler of Atkinson Andelson Loyd Ruud & Romo.
About King's Hawaiian: Founded more than 60 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 making irresistible, original recipe Hawaiian foods made with Aloha Spirit. Kings Hawaiian makes the #1 branded dinner roll in the United States, and operates approximately 400,000 square feet of baking facilities in Torrance, California and Oakwood, Georgia. For more information, visit the company's Web site at kingshawaiian.com, "Like" King's Hawaiian on Facebook and follow King's Hawaiian on Twitter.
Source: King's Hawaiian