Dzung Do/Nguoi Viet
SANTA ANA, California (NV) – In a landmark case fighting for the rights to the word “CỐT,” jurors unanimously ruled in favor of Quoc Viet Foods, Inc. against VV Foods, LLC for trademark infringement, at a federal court in Santa Ana on March 18, 2016.
Quoc Viet Foods’ Cot Pho Bo Brand of Soup Base Product. (Photo: PRNewsFoto/Rhema Law Group)
The lawsuit related to the word “CỐT” that the consumers often see in the products of “CỐT PHỞ BÒ,” “CỐT PHỞ GÀ”…
“This is a rare victory about trademark, with only about 2% of filed federal cases ever reaching a jury verdict,” said John Tran, of Rhema Law Group representing Quoc Viet Foods. “It guarantees that when consumers want to buy products of Quoc Viet Foods, Inc. they would get the ones they really want.”
“In addition, we are hopeful that this lawsuit helps the community understand how important trademark is and why we have to protect it,” said Mr. Tran.
Nguoi Viet Daily News called VV Foods, LLC, in Haltom City, Texas, for comment, talked with a representative, and left a message, but has not heard back.
According to attorney John Tran, Quoc Viet Foods, Inc. is seeking over $5 million in damages, not including its claim for enhanced damages for willful infringement, which would include claims for up to three times the award and/or attorneys’ fees. The damages portion of the case will be handled in a separate upcoming trial, probably in June or July.
“Quoc Viet Foods, Inc. is the top and first manufacturer of Vietnamese ethnic soup bases and sells its “CỐT” brand of soup base, coffee, tea and smoothie products across the nation in a variety of stores and institutions.” Tran said. “The company owns numerous registered trademarks containing the Vietnamese term “CỐT,” including its popular “CỐT PHỞ BÒ” and “CỐT PHỞ GÀ” products.
The defendant, VV Foods, LLC, is a company that sells competitive products that have the same trademarks with Quoc Viet Foods, Inc., according to Tran.
“The word ‘Cốt’ that Quoc Viet Foods, Inc. uses for its products is very unique,” Tran saod. “In the meantime, VV Foods, LLC argued that ‘cốt’ is a generic word, not protected, and they have to right to use it. Remember, in Vietnamese, ‘cốt’ also means ‘skeleton.’ Moreover, if it is generic, how come there aren’t a lot of companies use this word, but only VV Foods, LLC, besides Quoc Viet Foods, Inc.?”
“At the trial, we said that the fact that VV Foods, LLC continues to use the trademarks of Quoc Viet Foods confuses customers into thinking that this is the real product of Quoc Viet Foods, Inc. and causes damage to our client.”
According to John Trần, after two days of discussion, the jury concluded that the trademark “cốt” of Quoc Viet Foods, Inc. is valid and protected, and the fact that VV Foods, LLC infringes this trademark is unfair.
“When we learned that VV Foods, LLC had used trademarks of Quoc Viet Foods, Inc., we told them to stop. In fact, our client didn’t want to sue, but VV Foods, LLC didn’t cooperate. Therefore, Quoc Viet Foods, Inc. was forced to file a lawsuit in December, 2012.”
“This is not only an important victory for our company, but for business owners, who have invested a lot of money and time to build a successful business and trademark,” Tuan Nguyen, chairman and CEO of Quoc Viet Foods, Inc., said, according to Reuters.
In an interview with Nguoi Viet Daily News in 2014, Nguyen said that all of the trademarks like “CỐT PHỞ BÒ” và “CỐT PHỞ GÀ” of Quoc Viet Foods, Inc. are registered as soup base.
Other companies can’t use them without permission. These trademarks are becoming popular because Quoc Viet Foods, Inc. has spent a lot of money to advertise them. This is not a generic term or group of generic terms as some customers think. Quoc Viet Foods, Inc. has registered to protect more than 30 names of its products. There are some companies using them without knowing that they are infringing the trademarks.
According to its website, Quoc Viet Foods, Inc., based in Orange, California, is a food manufacturing company with a variety of products sold at many Vietnamese and American supermarkets.
VV Foods, LLC is a manufacturer and distributor of soup-bases and spice packets for use in making popular Vietnamese noodle or soup dishes, according to its website. “Our purpose and goal is to retain our heritage by passing on to our children, and introducing to the world, the many popular foods and traditions of Viet Nam.”
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