Frisbee Suits Are Flying

In the beginning there was the pie pan, whose aerodynamic abilities were known but unexploited.

Then there was the plastic “flying disc” called Frisbee, produced by Wham-O Manufacturing. It became the darling of leaping dogs and college students, growing into one of the biggest recreational crazes of recent years.

Then the lawsuits began flying.

Wham-O and San Francisco-based Kransco Group, its parent since 1982, have filed many lawsuits in an attempt to protect the Frisbee patents and trademarks. The latest was filed last week against Los Angeles-based Imperial Toy Co.

Calling the suit “totally without merit,” Imperial promptly countersued, contending that the Frisbee trademark is really a generic term and should be canceled.

Imperial also accused Kransco of violating antitrust laws by using its trademark registrations and threats of lawsuits “in its attempt to improperly monopolize the market for Frisbee toys,” President Arnold Rubin said. Imperial is seeking $10 million in damages, he said.

In its suit filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Kransco accused Imperial of 13 counts of trademark infringement, unfair competition, false designation of origin and patent infringement. Kransco said the suit, which seeks an injunction against Imperial and triple damages, is the largest multiple-count lawsuit the company has filed in the history of the Frisbee.

Imperial manufactures plastic discs using names, pictures and packaging that are very similar to those that Kransco uses in its more than 10 types of Frisbee discs, Kransco General Counsel Stuart Schneck said. For example, Kransco sells a Magna model of Frisbee while Imperial sells a flying disc under the name Magnum, he said.

“There are lots of manufacturers of flying discs out there,” Schneck said. “We object when they come out with a product that is so similar.

“We don’t want people to stop selling flying discs, we just don’t want them to trade on our advertising and promotion,” he said.

Schneck said Kransco hasn’t yet seen the countersuit filed Imperial Toy.