Deere & Company v. MTD Products, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
41 F.3d 39 (1994)
Relevant factsFree
MTD (defendant), a lawn tractor competitor, aired an advertisement using an altered version of Deere's (plaintiff) trademarked deer logo — with changed proportions and the "John Deere" name removed — animated to show the deer fleeing in fear from an MTD tractor; Deere sued for trademark dilution, and the district court denied a temporary restraining order but granted a preliminary injunction limited to New York, prompting cross-appeals from both parties.
IssueFree
Whether trademark dilution can occur when a competitor alters another's trademark and uses the altered trademark to ridicule his competitor's products in order to increase the sales of its own products.
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