A Houston plastic bag company is suing a Chicago company for allegedly using a business name it says is too similar to its own trademarked brand.
Better Bags Inc. filed a lawsuit Aug. 13 in the Houston Division of the Southern District Court of Texas against Better Bag Corp.
According to the complaint, Better Bags has been making and selling plastic bags for use in grocery stores for more than 27 years. In October 2000, the company says it was issued a registered mark "Better Bags" from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for use in connection with plastic bags for food packaging and commercial applications. Better Bags says it also operates the website www.betterbags.com where it sells the plastic bags.
The Houston-based company alleges it recently discovered the website www.betterbag.com is being used by another plastic bag manufacturer, the Better Bag Corp. Better Bags alleges it never gave permission to the Chicago-based bag company to use its name, any similar name or the domain www.betterbag.com.
Better Bags accuses Better Bag of trademark infringement, unfair competition and unjust enrichment. The plaintiff says it has been damaged financially by the confusingly similar competition's name.
Better Bags asks to be awarded an unspecified amount of money in lost profits plus court costs. It also asks that Better Bag Corp. be ordered to stop using its name or website within 30 days of a favorable judgment.
Attorney Anastassios Triantaphyllis, of Houston, represents Better Bags Inc. They request a jury trial.
The case number is Houston Division of Southern District Court of Texas case 4:14-cv-02320.
This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Houston Division of Southern District of Texas Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note that a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt and it represents only one side of the story.