Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule "A"

<p>In Equity. Suit for unfair competition in trade.</p> <p>This is a suit by the Bissell Chilled Plow Works, an Indiana corporation, engaged in the business of selling plows and wood pulp of its own manufacture at South Bend, Ind., against the T. M. Bissell Plow Company, a Michigan corporation, engaged in the business of selling plows of its own manufacture at Eaton Rapids, Mich., and certain officers thereof. The relief sought is an injunction restraining defendants from using the proper name “Bissell” as part of the name of the defendant corporation, or upon the plows sold by it, and a recovery of damages for past use thereof in such connection. The question to be determined is whether the. facts shown by the evidence in the record are such as to entitle complainant to all or either part of this relief.</p> <p>Complainant was incorporated and organized January 11, 1881. Its name at first, and until June 2, 1891, was “The South Bend Pulp Company.” On that date it wás changed to “The Bissell Chilled Plow Works,” its present name, by the judgment of the circuit court of St. Joseph county, Ind., of which South Bend is the county seat, in proceedings had in pursuance of the statutes of Indiana, begun February 21, 1891. Its business has always been as before stated, but the principal part thereof for from some time before the change in name, if not always, has been the sale of plows, and, if it still continues to sell wood pulp, it is only to a small extent. These two departments of its business have always been kept separate and distinct. Before the change in corporate name, it had a trade-name for its plow department, to wit, “The Bissell Chilled Plow Works,” the same which so became its corporate name. This was the trade-name of that department before that change, from the very beginning. There was nothing done by it in connection therewith that was not done in that name. All correspondence, bill heads, letter heads, price lists, advertisements, and contracts in rela