A decision by Johnson & Johnson, the giant health care conglomerate, to sue the American Red Cross last year for commercialising the Red Cross symbol may turn into a bit of a disaster for the company. This week the company lost the second round in its trademark dispute against the disaster relief agency when a federal judge in Manhattan threw out most of the case.In a decision late on Wednesday, Judge Jed S Rakoff of United States District Court said the Congressional charter for the Red Cross gave it the right to use the symbol — a Greek red cross against a white background—- even for business purposes.

Johnson & Johnson and the Red Cross had amicably shared use of the symbol for more than a century through an agreement signed in 1895. Johnson & Johnson has also used the symbol on packaging for many of its consumer health products, like Band-Aids. But the Red Cross angered Johnson & Johnson beginning in 2004 by licensing the symbol to other companies for use on commercial items sold in stores as part of the organisation’s fund-raising program.

The items included humidifiers, hand sanitizer gel, medical examination gloves, nail clippers, combs and toothbrushes. Some were part of first-aid kits sold at Target and by other retailers. Red Cross received part of the proceeds. Last August, the company said it had no recourse but to take the dispute to court. In his second ruling dismissing part of the case — the first one was in November — Judge Rakoff said that charitable reasons for Red Cross’s business ventures made them all the more reasonable.

... contd.