King’s Hawaiian settles with ALDI

For the second time in three years, King's Hawaiian has settled a lawsuit with ALDI over packaging sold at the discount grocery chain that King's Hawaiian alleged infringed on its intellectual property rights, according to a San Antonio Business Journal article.

The settlement brings another swift conclusion to the latest lawsuit filed by the long-time manufacturer of Hawaiian sweet bread products to protect its iconic orange packaging.

In this most recent lawsuit, King's Hawaiian filed suit against ALDI in a federal court in Los Angeles in November alleging infringement of its intellectual property rights for the distinctive packaging trade dress that King's Hawaiian uses for its famous Hawaiian sweet dinner rolls, according to the article.  The suit also alleged breach of the parties' earlier settlement agreement that had resolved a similar lawsuit King's Hawaiian filed against ALDI in Georgia in October 2015.

While the terms of the latest settlement agreement are confidential, King's Hawaiian President and Chief Strategy Officer John Linehan said King's Hawaiian is pleased with the settlement and with the resolution of the lawsuit, according to the press release.

"The King's Hawaiian packaging trade dress is one of our most valuable assets and King's Hawaiian has assembled a top-notch, two-firm legal team to protect and to enforce our intellectual property rights in the trade dress," Linehan said.  "We have invested significant time and resources and it is our intent that this legal team will vigorously pursue any infringement of our trade dress any time, in any place, and at any cost."