Opinion ID: 1185970
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Better Claim to the Word Plains

Text: Appellee's final contention is that it has a better claim to the right to use the word `Plains.' To support this argument, appellee relies upon the fact that Plains A to Z Tire Company, Inc., registered its corporate name on March 26, 1952, whereas Plains Tire and Battery Company, Inc., did not register its corporate name until October 31, 1977. And the stipulation of the parties shows that Appellee traces its ancestry back to the original `Store No. 1' whereas the Appellant's lineage goes back to `Store No. 2'. [5] In Oliver Gintel, Inc. v. Koslow's, Inc., D.C.Tex., 355 F. Supp. 236, 239 (1973), the court held that the fact that a defendant and/or his affiliates may have had prior rights in a trade name would not necessarily preclude their being guilty of unfair competition. Here, the fact that appellee registered its corporate name some twenty-seven years before appellant does not in and of itself prevent a finding of trade-name infringement. The name Plains Tire and Battery Company has been continually used in appellant's trading area since 1945 and this trade name has acquired a secondary meaning within that trading area. Therefore we cannot agree that appellee has a superior claim to the word Plains within appellant's trading area. The conclusion reached by the trial judge is not supported by the evidence and we find that the trial judge erred in denying appellant injunctive relief. Appellant is entitled to have an injunction restraining appellee from using the name Plains A to Z Tire Company, Inc., within appellant's territory.