Eighth Circuit Affirms U.S. Merchants Victory in Trade Dress Infringement Case

U.S. Merchants has prevailed against trade dress infringement claims brought by National Presto Industries concerning U.S. Merchants’ design and sale of its THE HEAT MACHINE brand parabolic heater. U.S. Merchants’ vigorous defense against National Presto’s trade dress infringement claims was once again vindicated when, on November 12, 2024, the Eighth Circuit affirmed an earlier decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota that found National Presto lacked trade dress in its parabolic heater.

The Eighth Circuit had “no difficulty” concluding that the District Court’s findings were supported by the trial record. National Presto “did not present any direct consumer evidence supporting its claim,” and the record established that National Presto’s claims of a protectable, distinctive design were not supported, as many National Presto competitors “have adopted substantially similar components for their heaters.”

The Eighth Circuit’s decision follows nearly six years of litigation. “We are pleased with the appellate court’s decision, which affirms U.S. Merchants’ ability to continue innovating and supplying high-quality products to retailers without the disruption of unfounded legal claims,” said Christopher K. Larus, National Trial Chair at Robins Kaplan and lead counsel for U.S. Merchants.

“U.S. Merchants is committed to fairly competing in the market, and to opposing unfounded claims of IP infringement,” said Jeff Green, President and founder of U.S. Merchants. “I appreciate the excellent work that Chris Larus, Will Manske, and their team did at trial.”

The Robins Kaplan team representing U.S. Merchants in this matter included Christopher Larus, William Manske, Emily Tremblay, and Travis Waller.