Spiegel Inc., Downers Grove, IL, is embroiled in a legal battle over use of the term “Elements Exclusively Spiegel” in its catalogs.
Elements Inc., which runs a store on Chicago’s Oak Street, sued the mail order giant in December, alleging that Spiegel violated the Elements trademark with its Elements Exclusively Spiegel name.
Spiegel filed an answer last week, disputing the allegations. and the firms have entered a mediation process mandated for trademark cases by the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois, according to Paul Levy, an attorney with the firm of Deutsch, Levy & Engel, which represents Elements.
Though the companies are now choosing a mediator, this will not prevent discovery from going forward, Levy said.
According to the complaint, the Elements Exclusively Spiegel mark appears on merchandise “substantially similar” to goods sold by Elements, including clothing, jewelry, personal accessories and home furnishings.
Elements charges that Spiegel “continues to focus upon the word ‘Elements’ while minimizing the remainder of the mark in size and appearance.”
An attorney for Spiegel, Angelo J. Bufalino, declined to comment except to say, “We are confident we will prevail in the case.” Bufalino is with the firm of Vedder Price Kaufman & Kammholz.
According to the complaint on file with the court, Spiegel began using the mark “Elements Exclusively Spiegel” in 1993 and registered the name with the U.S. Patent & Trademark office in 1995 for use with clothing.
Spiegel now has a pending trademark filing to use the name with home furnishings and personal accessories, according to the court papers.
Elements registered its mark with the State of Illinois in 1986, specifying that it would be used for clothing and related items. When that registration expired in 1996, it registered the mark again, this time including home furnishings and accessories, furniture, jewelry and other products.
In addition to its retail sales, Elements offers its merchandise through national mailings, Levy said.
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