Magnum Import Co. v. Coty

Background

Manufacturers of well-known perfumes sued purchasers and resellers who rebottled and repacked their products and then sold them using the original makers’ names and trade-marks. The District Court found infringement but allowed resale if the sellers used a full label stating the facts and did not give greater prominence to the manufacturer’s name. The Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, finding that the rebottling and repacking damaged the perfumes’ qualities, unlawfully injured the manufacturers’ trade-mark rights, and could not practicably be policed, so it enlarged the injunction to bar use of the manufacturers’ names on repacked items.

Reasoning

The main question here was whether this Court should suspend the Circuit Court of Appeals’ order while petitions for review (certiorari) were pending. The opinion explains that the Supreme Court has the statutory power to issue such suspensions but only in narrow circumstances. The Court said applicants face a heavy burden, that the Circuit Court of Appeals should first consider stays, and that this Court will not lightly overturn that court’s deliberate judgment. Because the Circuit Court had given full consideration and the affidavits showed the weight of evidence favored the manufacturers who opposed suspension, this Court found no compelling reason to suspend the injunctions.

Real world impact

The decision leaves the appeals-court injunctions in force, restricting sellers from labeling rebottled or repacked perfumes with the original manufacturers’ trade names. The ruling is procedural, not a final ruling on the underlying merits, so the legal outcome could still change if the case is reviewed on the merits.