Omega Nutrition U.S.A. Inc. v. Spectrum Marketing, Inc.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

This ease arises out of plaintiff/coun-terdefendant Omega Nutrition U.S.A., Inc.’s (“Omega USA”) and defendant/coun-terclaimant Spectrum Marketing, Inc.’s (“Spectrum”) competing claims of trademark infringement. The mark in dispute is the “Veg-Omega-3,” which both parties have used to identify their competing bottled flax seed oil products. On August 7, 1990, Spectrum was issued a United States registration for the Veg-Omega-3 mark, Reg. No. 1,609,232, and now requests a preliminary injunction enjoining the use of this mark by Omega USA, Omega Canada 1. Omega Canada II, and the individual counterdefendants. A brief chronological background is essential to determining the validity of this request.

I. BACKGROUND

Omega Canada I is a Canadian corporation formed in April 1987 for the purpose of manufacturing in Canada, and marketing world-wide, flax seed oil products. Shortly after its formation, Omega Canada I entered into an oral distribution agreement with Spectrum, a California corporation, whereby Spectrum agreed to become Omega Canada I’s exclusive distributor in the health food market in the United States for flax seed oil manufactured and bottled by…