Wegmans and Walgreens Settle Trademark Infringement Lawsuit

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April 26, 2011

Wegmans Food Markets Inc. has agreed to cease using the “circle W” logo as part of a trademark infringement lawsuit settlement with Walgreens drug store chain, which sued the grocer claiming its logos were too similar to its own.

Under the terms of the settlement, Wegmans agreed to discontinue the use of the “circle W” symbol on its store brands packaging by June 30, 2012. Wegmans retained the right to freely use its script logo, and admitted no liability as part of the settlement.

“The cost of making relatively minor changes to a limited number of products was much less than the cost of litigating this case to the end,” said Jo Natale, Wegmans’ director of media relations. “We wanted to return to a logo we had used many decades ago. There was never any intent on our part to make our products or logos resemble those of Walgreens.”

Walgreens sued Wegmans in November of 2010, in federal court in Virginia, claiming Wegmans' script logo and its “circle W” logo on some products infringed on its trademark and could be misleading to customers. Walgreens said it has been using its “flying W" trademark since 1951.

Although the settlement was reached on March 3, it was just announced this week.

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