MANHATTAN, N.Y.—The makers of Ben & Jerry's ice cream aren't afraid to be a little racy when it comes to naming their flavors, but apparently porn DVDs with similar names are too racy for their tastes.
Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. and Conopco Inc. filed a trademark lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan against Caballero Video and Rodax Distributors for their creation and distribution of a line of hardcore adult DVDs called Ben & Cherry's.
The suit alleges trademark and trade stress dilution and infringement of the Ben & Jerry's trademark. The ice cream company has names like Karamel Sutra and Schweddy Balls, but takes offense to the porn titles of Coconut 7 Lay-Her Bar, Late Night Snatch and Boston Cream Thigh, which are similar to names the company uses. The ice cream moguls are also upset that the packaging for the porn looks incredibly similar to their own containers.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, says the filmmakers should be ordered to cease and desist creation and distribution of the movies because they could cause "confusion, mistake or deception" regarding the ice creams. Besides, the suit says, Ben & Jerry's has been around for 35 years, and Ben & Cherry's has existed such a short time, so a cease and desist order shouldn't hurt Caballero and Rodax's business that much.
"Defendants' conduct is causing immediate and irreparable injury to Plaintiffs, and to their goodwill and reputation, and continue to both damage Plaintiffs and to confuse the public unless enjoined by this Court," the suit reads.
The suit also asks that Caballero and Rodax deliver the goods already made so they can be destroyed.
Efforts to reach representatives from Caballero and Rodax were not immediately successful.
While the suit was filed Sept. 5, a hearing date has not yet been scheduled.
UPDATE
Today Ben & Jerry's won a court order temporarily blocking Caballero and Rodax from selling and advertising titles with names similar to those of the company and its ice cream flavors.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Caballero to stop selling the 10 DVD titles in its Ben & Cherry's series.
The judge ordered Caballero to report to court Sept. 12 to explain why he should not enter a preliminary injunction that would force to company to recall all its Ben & Cherry's DVDs.
