General Shoe Corp. v. Rosen‪.‬

The General Shoe Corporation, plaintiff in the District Court, brought this suit against Isadore Rosen to protect its trade marks, "Friendly" and "The Friendly Five", as applied to shoes. The plaintiff is a Tennessee corporation which in 1925 took over the business of the Jarman Shoe Company, a copartnership engaged in the manufacture of shoes, under whose name the marketing of the product has since been continued. The defendant is a resident of Charleston, West Virginia, where he owns and operates three retail mens furnishing stores on the same street. He began business in 1929 with one store under the name of the "Mens Shop". In 1935 he changed the name to the "Friendly Mens Shop" and within two years established the other stores under the same name. In general, the charge is that the defendant has so used the word "Friendly" in and about his shops in connection with the display and sale of shoes as to be guilty of infringement of the trade marks and also of unfair competition. The plaintiff seeks injunction against further infringement, but does not ask an accounting for profits or damages. The defense is that the trade mark "Friendly" is descriptive, and therefore invalid; that the use of the trade mark "The Friendly Five" by the defendant has been so slight since 1933 that it need not be considered in this case; that there has been no infringement of the trade marks and no unfair competition since the defendant has not used the name "Friendly" in connection with his shoes in such a way as to lead the public to believe, contrary to the fact, that he sells the plaintiffs products. The District Judge found for the defendant and dismissed the bill.