Butler Home Products, LLC v. Avent, Inc. et al. (18-cv-11263).

Butler filed a complaint against Avent and O&M Halyard, Inc., seeking a declaratory judgment of non-infringement and cancellation of two trademark registrations claiming rights in the color purple for latex gloves. Butler, a manufacturer of home cleaning products, sells reusable purple latex gloves to Wegmans Food Markets, who then sells the gloves under the WEGMANS 00ae brand. The registrations cover the color purple for 201cprotective gloves for industrial use, and disposable nitrile gloves for use in laboratories and clean room environments, 201d 201cgloves for medical and surgical uses, 201d and 201cdisposable nitrile gloves for general uses. 201d In April, Avent and O&M Halyard sent Wegmans a cease and desist letter, which was forwarded to Butler. After a response challenging the protectability of the color purple, Butler received a second cease and desist letter, setting up the DJ action. Butler asserts that the color purple is functional, in that laboratories use different color gloves for different areas to prevent cross-contamination or to signify the material the gloves are made of, as well as the existence of other purple gloves, asserted to preclude the color from serving as an identifier of source.