Have you noticed that drug stores are stocking more food while at the same time grocery stores’ pharmacy departments are expanding? It’s not just your imagination. Whole health blog, Refresh, wrote recently about the growing overlap of product lines between grocery stores and drug stores in Blurring Channels: Supermarkets vs. Drug Stores.
Now two of the major players from each of these retail categories are in the midst of a trademark infringement suit—Walgreens is suing Wegmans Food Markets, claiming its logo is too similar to its own. Take a look at the court filing.
The Walgreens so-called “flying W” logo has been around since 1951. Wegmans claims it started using its “W” in the 1930s. A Wegmans spokesperson said: “Our script design has been in use since 2008, and was crafted to look like the logos our company used in the 1930s and 1940s…We don’t think that there is any real risk of customer confusion between the two companies.”
Now here’s an interesting coincidence: Supermarket News reported that according to Walgreens, both companies worked with the same design firm, Watt International, for the creation of their logos.
Walgreens wants Wegmans to stop using the logo, destroy all packaging that contains the logo and also seeks financial compensation and damages. Do you see a likelihood of confusion?
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Though they share a similar look and feel, they are clearly two different typefaces/logotypes.
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