Earlier this month in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas (Houston Division), King’s Hawaiian Bread Co., known for its sweet bread rolls wrapped in an orange packaging with a clear window on the front, brought suit against Harlan Bakeries LLC and Southern Bakeries LLC. King’s Hawaiian Bread Co. brought the following causes of action (I) Federal Trade Dress Infringement, due to the respondent’s deceptively similar packaging for its sweet bread rolls; (II) Federal False Designation of Origin and Unfair Competition; (III) State Common Law Trade Dress Infringement; (IV) State Common Law Unfair Competition; and (V) State Common Law Misappropriation.
In its complaint, King’s Hawaiian Bread Co. alleged it first started selling sweet rolls and other baked goods in the 1950s in Hilo, Hawaii. King’s Hawaiian Bread Co. further alleged that the first 12-pack of Original Hawaiian Sweet Rolls was introduced in 1983, and that the Packaging Trade Dress (seen below) has been used since at least the early 1980s. King’s Hawaiian Bread Co. described its sweet roll packaging trade dress as follows: (1) the prominent use of the color orange; (2) on the front of the package a clear window, with the color orange as the primary element around such clear window; (3) within the window, a light-colored element with contrasting writing; and (4) on the light-colored element, no word appears in larger font than the word “Hawaiian.”
See King’s Hawaiian Holding Co. Inc. et al. v. Southern Bakeries LLC et al., Case No. 4:20-cv-04283.