Wegmans, Walgreens Settle Trademark Infringement Suit

Wegmans Food Markets Inc. and Walgreens have settled a lawsuit filed by Walgreens in November 2010, in which the Deerfield, Ill.-based drug store operator alleged that some Wegmans logos infringed Walgreens trademarks.

Under the terms of the settlement, which was reached early last month, Wegmans agreed to discontinue the use of the “circle W” symbol on store-brand product packaging by June 30, 2012, but retained the right to freely use the name “Wegmans” in script, as well as its other marks. The Rochester, N.Y.-based grocer didn’t admit liability as part of the settlement.

“The cost of making relatively minor changes to a limited number of products was much less than the cost of litigating this case to the end,” explained Wegmans director of media relations Jo Natale. “We wanted to return to a logo we had used many decades ago. There was never any intent on our part to make our products or logos resemble those of Walgreens.”

Family-owned Wegmans operates 77 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland. Its first New England store is scheduled to open in Northborough, Mass., in October 2011.