Dive Brief:
- Tools and hardware maker Stanley Black & Decker is suing Pacific Market International over the use of the name Stanley to market and sell its popular drinkware products.
- The New Britain, Connecticut-based company filed a complaint alleging PMI infringed on the Stanley trademark by using the name in broad terms that went against long-held agreements between the two companies.
- However, PMI denied the allegations, saying it owns the Stanley brand that it uses for the food and beverage container categories and that the lawsuit seeks to capitalize on the drinkware maker’s success.
Dive Insight:
Stanley Black & Decker and Aladdin Industries, which formerly owned the Stanley drinkware company, first entered into a series of use agreements in 1966 to prevent any consumer confusion regarding their products, according to the lawsuit.
The agreements distinguished things like when and how the Stanley name could be used so that it would not infringe on the Stanley Black & Decker trademark. PMI agreed to updated terms after acquiring the drinkware brand in 2002.
Stanley Black & Decker said in the lawsuit that PMI recently breached a 2012 agreement after allegedly identifying itself as Stanley in the marketplace, on products and in its website domain: stanley1913.com.
“PMI rode that misuse to viral success,” Stanley Black & Decker argued.
The company also argued that PMI’s breach, along with negative press over the past year, allegedly caused the toolmaker reputational harm, citing a separate lawsuit that claimed Stanley failed to disclose that its products contained lead and a recent recall of 2.6 million Stanley steel travel mugs with defective lids.
Matt Navarro, PMI WW Brands, LLC’s global president, said the lawsuit takes aim at the company’s own Stanley brand, which dates back to 1913, when William Stanley Jr. developed the vacuum flask technology that became integral to Stanley’s cups and thermoses.
“Protecting and defending our brand is crucial,” Navarro said in a statement.
Stanley Black & Decker, founded in 1843, has grown into one of the largest tools and hardware companies, with 30 manufacturing facilities across the United States. In addition to items like power drills and saws, the company sells Stanley-branded clothing, gloves, hats, footwear, sanitizers and even toys.
