BRIEFLY / FOOD : Nabisco Still Barred From Selling Fish Crackers

Campbell Soup Co.’s Pepperidge Farm unit has persuaded a federal appeals court to continue barring Nabisco Inc. from selling fish-shaped cheese crackers similar to Pepperidge Farm’s popular goldfish crackers. The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that a federal judge in New York properly ordered Nabisco to stop using the goldfish shape and to recall all CatDog animal cracker products that include the fish. Nabisco, the largest U.S. cookie and cracker company, sued Pepperidge Farm in January seeking a ruling that it wasn’t violating Pepperidge Farm’s trademark on goldfish crackers. Pepperidge Farm countersued, asking a judge to bar Nabisco from selling the fish-shaped crackers as part of its animal cracker brand based on a popular children’s TV series. The 2nd Circuit’s decision means Nabisco, based in Parsippany, N.J., is forbidden to sell the fish-shaped crackers until the dispute is decided by a jury or settled. Nabisco executives were reviewing the decision before deciding whether to appeal or drop the case entirely, a spokesman for the company said. Pepperidge Farm has sold its goldfish crackers since 1962, and the snacks have generated $200 million in net sales per year since 1995. Shares of Campbell, based in Camden, N.J., fell 19 cents to close at $44.19, and Nabisco shares rose 25 cents to $39.31 on the NYSE.