Conopco, Inc. v. May Department Stores Co.

Conopco (plaintiff), maker of Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion, sued May Department Stores (defendant) for trade-dress infringement after May designed its private-label lotion bottle to resemble Conopco's newly relaunched Vaseline bottle, though May's label bore different wording and its own clearly marked logo; the district court credited testimony from a single consumer, Mrs. Sickle, who mistakenly believed name-brand manufacturers secretly also make private-label products, and found both actual confusion (supporting damages) and a presumption of confusion from May's intent to compete, awarding Conopco monetary and injunctive relief.