Judge rules for plaintiff in bakery trademark matter, cites AMS survey evidence

U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball granted Sara Lee’s motion for a preliminary injunction in Sara Lee Corporation vs. Sycamore Family Bakery, Inc., a trademark infringement case involving Sara Lee’s “Grandma Sycamore’s Homemaid Bread.” In his decision, the Judge cited evidence from a survey conducted by Applied Marketing Science, Inc. (AMS) Founder Bob Klein. In his ruling, Judge Kimball wrote, “adjusting for the control group, the survey found that between 33.8% and 44.6% of Utah bread purchasers are likely to be confused, and falsely believe that Defendants’ Sycamore Family Bakery products are either made by Sara Lee or connected or affiliated with Sara Lee.” Judge Kimball continued “it is generally accepted that much lower levels of confusion than this are indicative of a likelihood of confusion.”