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Red Cross sued over use of emblem |
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Written by Felix Da Silva (fdasilva@bitnip.com)
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Thursday, 09 August 2007 |
 Johnson & Johnson, the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the American Red
Cross, demanding that the charity halt the use of the red cross symbol on
products it sells to the public.
According the the Associated Press, Johnson & Johnson began using the red cross design as a trademark in 1887 –
six years after the creation of the American Red Cross but before it received
its congressional charter in 1900. The lawsuit contends that the charter did not
empower the Red Cross to engage in commercial activities competing with a
private business.
The suit asks the Red Cross to turn over the products in question which includes health and
safety kits to Johnson
& Johnson for destruction and also seeks unspecified punitive damages. The profits ($10 million) frp, those health and safety kits sold went to boost Red Cross' disaster response efforts
Mark Everson, the Red Cross president said,
For a multi billion dollar drug company to claim that the Red Cross violated a
criminal statute ... simply so that J&J can make more money, is obscene Johnson & Johnson said in a statement,
After more than a century of strong cooperation in the use of the Red Cross
trademark. ... we were very disappointed to find that the American Red Cross
started a campaign to license the trademark to several businesses for commercial
purposes.
This doesn't seem to be a very good PR move for Johnson & Johnson to go after the Red Cross. However, if Johnson & Johnson are the rightful owners of the trademark, they have every right to sue and protect their mark. Just doesn't make much sense for them to risk tarnishing their reputation as a 'family company' to go after such a small amount of money from a charitable organization.
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