Timeplanner Calendars, Inc. has filed a lawsuit against competitor Norwood Promotional Products, claiming that Norwood copied its trademark and is gaining market share from Norwood’s reputation and the extensive advertising and promotion of its products over the last 30 years.
Timeplanner said that the trademark infringement on its “Timeplanner” mark constitutes unfair competition and is deceptive and causing confusion in the marketplace that will injure Timeplanner.
Court documents, filed last month in The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina Raleigh Division, claim that Norwood recently began using the name “Time Planner” to market and sell its calendars. Timeplanner claims that some of Norwood’s products are “functionally very similar” to those offered by Timeplanner under the Timeplanner trademark.
“Norwood’s use of this substantially and confusingly similar name or trademark in conjunction with the sale of calendars which appear to be almost identical in nature and function to those sold by Timeplanner is likely to cause confusion, deception and mistake among the purchasing public and others,” the documents said.
Norwood spokesperson Allison Avin said the company would not comment on the lawsuit.
Timeplanner asked the court to require Norwood to destroy all products associated with the trademark infringement suit and to pay Timeplanner any revenue it gained from selling such products.
Timeplanner, based in Charlotte, NC, had no comment but referred calls to its attorney, Cindy Parker of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP in Raleigh, NC, who could not be reached for comment.
Since at least 1975, Timeplanner has used the trademark “Timeplanner” to market and sell its weekly and monthly wall, pocket and desk calendars, diaries and appointment books. The products are often personalized with the name or logo of a business. Timeplanner patented the trademark in 1982, court documents stated.
Timeplanner said that it has used the trademark continuously for 30 years and that its name and trademark help consumers identify its products and that it has spent several million dollars in advertising to market the brand.
According to the Promotional Products Association International, Norwood had been involved in lawsuits with four other industry companies over the last year and a half: the National Association of Promotional Products Distributors, a copyright infringement case against Beacon Promotions and a trademark infringement suit against Kustom Koozies.
Norwood, based in Indianapolis, ranked No. 2 on the Advertising Specialty Institutes list of Top 40 Suppliers with $363.2 million in sales.
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