Continental Laboratory Products, Inc. v. Medax International, Inc.

CORRECTED MEMORANDUM OPINION RE: TRADE DRESS CLAIMS

Defendants Medax International, Inc. and individual Defendants Alma A. Timpson, Jr. and Paul M. Jessop filed a motion for summary judgment against Plaintiffs claims for trade dress infringement and unfair competition.

i. Background

Medical and research laboratories perform large numbers of repetitive tests that require scientists to add precise amounts of certain chemical or biological materials to hundreds of test tubes. This process involves injecting the material through a disposable pipette tip that is attached to a pipetting tool. Pipette tips are typically discarded after use. To facilitate use, disposable pipette tips are sold in trays with the tips arranged for connection to a multi-headed pipetting tool. Empty trays may be reused by reloading them with pipette tips.

In the past, manufacturers of disposable pipette tips distributed them in large packages with 10 trays per box, each tray holding 96 tips. The trays and packaging were usually discarded after use, producing significant quantities of solid waste. In recent years, research laboratories have sought to reduce this solid waste by developing systems to package…