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Judge Puts Brakes on Parks Lawsuit Against Tyson

2 min read

A federal judge in Pennsylvania dismissed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Tyson Foods Inc., allowing the Springdale company to continue using the phrase “Park’s Finest” on its Hillshire brand of Ball Park Hot Dogs.

The suit had been filed by Parks LLC, a Pittsburgh company owned by former NFL football players Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell, alleging that the phrase would likely confuse consumers looking for the Parks brand of sausages.

The judge, Joseph F. Leeson Jr. of Allentown, disagreed, as Reuters reported:

[Parks Sausages] is known for a long-running radio and television ad campaign in which a boy pleads with his mother for “more Parks’ sausages Mom … please.”

But the judge said Tyson and Hillshire chose the “Park’s Finest” name for their higher-end frankfurters, which were launched in 2014, “precisely because it functioned as a reference to their Ball Park brand.”

Leeson also said Parks located only a handful of people who thought it made the defendants’ hot dogs, while Tyson offered a survey in which only one of 200 people were confused.

Parks LLC has its roots in the former H.G. Parks Sausage Co. of Baltimore, the first African-American company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Tyson issued a statement on the judge’s decision:

We understand the importance of intellectual property and take steps to protect our own. However, we did not infringe on any rights of the plaintiff or engage in false advertising. We’re pleased that after reviewing evidence and hearing arguments that the judge agreed and has granted our motion for summary judgment.

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