Valu Engineering, Inc. v. Nolu Plastics, Inc.

This is an action for trademark infringement and unfair competition by plaintiff Valu Engineering (hereinafter “Valu”) against defendant Nolu Plastics (hereinafter “Nolu”) based on Nolu’s alleged eopy-ing of Valu’s “unique” plastic guide rails for conveyor belts. Nolu has filed a motion with the Court seeking a preliminary injunction against Valu. This motion revolves around allegedly false statements of fact made by Valu and its sales representatives in their marketing efforts about Nolu’s guide rails. In support of this motion, Nolu relies on Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125 (a), which prohibits false or misleading representations of fact regarding the product of the person making the statement or another person’s product in promotion or advertising.

Nolu complains that Valu’s sales representatives, at the direction of the highest levels of Valu’s management, have been informing Nolu’s potential customers that Nolu’s guide rails are not manufactured from Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMW plastic), but rather a cheaper and inferior substance. In addition, Nolu objects to the practice of Valu’s sales representatives of displaying misshapen samples of…