What’s in a name? Well, if that name happens to be PODS about $62 million. That’s how much the storage and moving company was awarded in damages from a trademark infringement lawsuit against U-Haul.
The Tampa Bay Times reports the award was made after a jury ruled U-Haul infringed on PODS’ trademarks, causing confusing and hurting business for the company.
Clearwater-based PODS delivers containers to homes and businesses to be filled and transported to storage centers.
PODS sued U-Haul International in U.S. District Court in Tampa back in 2012 alleging that U-Haul “improperly and unlawfully” used the PODS trademark on its website as a way to divert sales. The company sought an estimated $170 million.
At the time the suit was filed officials with U-Haul say the company used the word pod to describe its U-Box product.
However, the jury found that U-Haul unjustly gained from mentioning the term in its marketing and advertising materials and started using the work only after PODS became a prominent business.
The ruling in PODS’ favor was a significant win over “genericide,” over “genericide,” the term used to describe what happens when a trademarked product morphs from a single product identified under a name to an entire product category. such as happened with aspirin, trampoline and cellophane.
In all, the jury awarded PODS about $46 million in damages and another $16 million in profits attributable to U-Haul using the word pods.
An attorney for PODS tells the Times that based on the verdict the company plans to seek an injunction to get U-Haul to stop using pods and pods.
It was unclear if U-Haul plans to appeal the ruling.
PODS wins $62 million award in trademark infringement lawsuit against U-Haul [Tampa Bay Times]
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