International Jensen, Incorporated v. Metrosound U.S.A., Inc., Dba L.A. Sound

A manufacturer seeks a preliminary injunction barring a rival company from producing similar looking audio speakers. The district court denied the preliminary injunction and, for the reasons stated below, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

International Jensen, Inc., the Appellant, manufactures car and truck loudspeakers. The speakers are covered by a detachable metallic grille; Jensen’s name appears in a rectangular box on the lower portion of the grille. Removing the grille exposes the speaker cone. The cone is attached to the speaker housing, the box which encloses the speaker, by means of a “surround.” Since the early 1970s Jensen has colored the surround in cyan blue. The company describes this package as being the “Blue Surround trademark and trade dress.” The company, for the first time, filed federal applications for trademark registration of the “Blue Surround” in April 1990. The application has not yet been approved.

Late in 1989, Metrosound U.S.A. Inc., the Appellee, introduced a new line of car speakers under the L.A. SOUND label. In its own words, Metrosound tried to link its products with the “fun Southern California lifestyle, including activities associated with the beach…