Sunkist wins US court appeal to block 'Kist' trademark

By Blake Brittain

July 23 (Reuters) - Sunkist Growers convinced a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday to block a soft-drink maker's attempt to register a trademark covering "Kist" drinks.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, observing that the case "concerns kisses, sunlight, and soft drinks," agreed with Sunkist that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office should have rejected Intrastate Distributors Inc's "Kist" trademark because it could create confusion with Sunkist's orange sodas.

Spokespeople and attorneys for Sunkist and IDI did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision.

Citrus-grower cooperative Sunkist Growers has sold its Sunkist soft drinks since the 1930s. Detroit-based IDI bought the rights to Kist, a vintage Midwestern soda brand, in 2009, and has been using the name with sparkling waters and glass-bottle sodas since 2014.

IDI applied for a federal trademark covering "Kist" in 2019. The USPTO rejected Sunkist's opposition to the application in 2023, finding that IDI's brand would not confuse consumers because Sunkist's marketing references the sun while Kist's references kissing.

The Federal Circuit reversed the USPTO's ruling and blocked IDI's federal trademark on Wednesday. The appeals court determined that Kist's marketing does not focus on kisses and that the USPTO "overly relied" on Sunkist's sun logo in comparing the brands, finding that "Kist" and "Sunkist" are confusingly similar brand names for drinks.

The case is Sunkist Growers Inc v. Intrastate Distributors Inc, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 24-1212.

For Sunkist: Leigh Lindquist of Sughrue Mion

For IDI: Michael Cummings of Cummings McClorey Davis & Acho