La Chemise Lacoste v. General Mills, Inc.

OPINION OF THE COURT

HASTIE, Circuit Judge.

This litigation began with a complaint filed in the district court by La Chemise Lacoste, a French corporation, against the Alligator Company, Inc., a Delaware corporation. The relief sought was a declaratory judgment that Lacoste owned a certain crocodile emblem as a trademark for toiletries and was entitled to sell toiletries bearing that emblem in the United States.

Responding to this complaint, Alligator pleaded that Lacoste, acting through Jean Patou, Inc., a New York corporation, as its exclusive distributor, had violated Alligator’s trademark…