Handi-Foil Wins Trademark Suit

A Virginia jury has voted in favor of Handi-Foil Corp., a family-owned manufacturer of recyclable aluminum products, on all but one of the counts of trademark and false advertising, as filed by Reynolds Consumer Products, the maker of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil.

The decision on March 28, 2014, determined that Handi-Foil did not infringe or dilute Reynolds' registered trademarks, and rejected Reynolds' claim for false advertising, which related to Handi-Foil's statements that its aluminum roll foil is comparable or equivalent to Reynolds in quality and strength.

The jury also rejected Reynolds' claims for false designation of origin and state law trade dress infringement and unfair competition. The jury found in favor of Reynolds on one count for infringement of the common law trade dress of Reynolds' current package design, but rejected Reynolds' claims for monetary relief. Handi-Foil said it will seek a new trial on the claim of trade dress infringement.

"Handi-Foil is gratified that the jury rejected Reynolds' false advertising claim, finding that Handi-Foil's aluminum roll foil products are in fact of comparable quality and strength to Reynolds Wrap foil," said Handi-Foil Executive VP David Sarnoff.

Originally, Reynolds accused five different Handi-Foil package designs of infringing, but two weeks before trial, Reynolds submitted a consent-not-to-sue on one of the packages.