Catchy Phrase Proves Costly: The use of...
From Times Staff and Wire reports
Catchy Phrase Proves Costly: The use of two little words--”Thirst Aid”--has made a little Vermont company a lot richer and put a dent in the coffers of a much bigger company that makes Gatorade. U.S. District Senior Judge Prentice Marshall has ruled that Chicago-based Quaker Oats Co. must pay $24.7 million to Sands, Taylor & Wood of Norwich, Vt., for violating the New England firm’s trademark “Thirst Aid.” Gatorade was marketed as “thirst aid, for that deep-down body thirst.” The Vermont firm, which markets ice cream sundae toppings and soft-drink syrups under the “Thirst Aid” name, owns the trademark.