A New York federal judge recently ruled in Johnson & Johnson v. The American National Red Cross, 07 Civ. 7061 that the American Red Cross did not violate federal law or international treaties when it licensed four companies in 2005 to manufacture and sell products bearing its Red Cross logo.
In 2007, Johnson and Johnson ("J&J") sued the American Red Cross ("ARC"), claiming that its licensing agreements with Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, and CVS all of whom also sell Johnson & Johnson products constituted both a criminal offense and a violation of the Geneva Conventions. J&J also claimed that licensing the Red Cross trademark to retailers with whom it already conducts business constituted tortious interference with its contractual relations. Defendants then filed a counterclaim, alleging that J&J's use of the mark is a criminal violation of the same statute that J&J accused ARC of violating.
In a May 15th decision, Judge Rakoff ruled on summary judgment motions filed by J&J, ARC and its licensees as codefendants. The decision held that use of the Red Cross logo neither violated federal statute criminalizing fraudulent use of the mark nor ARC's 1910 amended congressional charter. Judge Rakoff also ruled that while the Geneva Conventions discourage commercial use of the mark, claiming that it lessens the spiritual significance of the emblem and its connotation with relief aid, such use is not banned in the treaties. Judge Rakoff also dismissed defendants' counterclaim, as J&J is one of several corporations whose use of the Red Cross logo predates ARC's federal charter, and J&J's use of the Red Cross logo is not substantially different today. The one issue remaining for trial is whether ARC's contracts with the four retailers constituted tortious interference.
Vol. 53, June 2010