Opinion ID: 771716
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 10 The Miraclesuit bathing suit is made by A&H, which manufactures ten percent of all swimwear in the United States. The Miraclesuit is distributed by Swim Shaper, a division of Mainstream Swimsuits. The Miraclesuit is advertised as having a slimming effect on the wearer without using uncomfortable girdle-like binds. Its material purportedly smooths out middle body bulges and works with a flattering design to confuse the eye such that the wearer is advised, in advertising and in tags that generally accompany the product, that she will [l]ook ten pounds lighter in 10 seconds[:] The ten seconds it takes to slip it on. Miraclesuits also include tags indicating that they are Swim Shaper products. 11 Miraclesuits, which sell for between $50 and $100, come in both single pieces and bikinis. Many are equipped with push-up bras, shaping or underwire bras, or simple, unshaped bras. They are typically sold to trade buyers for department store sales and national mail-order catalogues, and, on two occasions, they were featured in the Victoria's Secret catalogue. A&H received a trademark registration for the mark Miraclesuit in the fall of 1992. The District Court found that A&H has spent over $1.2 million to advertise the Miraclesuit in magazines and trade papers, and has received the equivalent of $1.5 million of advertising in free publicity, i.e., publicity in trade magazines, consumer columns, and the general press. The advertising and publicity campaign has been a success, and Miraclesuits constitute approximately ten percent of all of A&H's sales. 12 While A&H is busy selling skinny waists and midriffs, Victoria's Secret, the nation's premier lingerie seller, has focused on instant enlargements of the bust. 4 In 1993, Victoria's Secret released The Miracle Bra, a padded push- up bra. Victoria's Secret filed an application to register it's the Miracle Bra trademark, and unleashed an avalanche of advertising and publicity, ultimately spending over $13 million on The Miracle Bra products. The campaign succeeded, and sales of The Miracle Bra products have topped $140 million since they were first introduced. 13 In 1994, Victoria's Secret's trademark application for The Miracle Bra mark on lingerie was approved. Later that year, Victoria's Secret moved The Miracle Bra mark into swimwear, and The Miracle Bra swimsuit and The Miracle Bra bikini started appearing in Victoria's Secret catalogues. (The Miracle Bra lingerie and swimwear are sold only in Victoria's Secret stores and catalogues.). The cost of The Miracle Bra swimwear varies, but it is typically in the neighborhood of $70, and The Miracle Bra and Victoria's Secret tags are prominently featured on all swimwear. This product also succeeded: The total sales of The Miracle Bra swimsuits reached $28 million by summer 1997. The last critical fact regarding this swimwear is that, as a result of this litigation, Victoria's Secret has committed itself to using the following disclaimer with all promotion, advertising, and sales of The Miracle Bra: The Miracle Bra Swimwear Collection is exclusive to Victoria's Secret and is not associated with Miraclesuit by Swimshaper. 14 In 1995, after this litigation began, Victoria's Secret applied to the PTO for a trademark for The Miracle Bra for swimsuits, bathing suits, and bikinis. Because it had previously conducted a search for The Miracle Bra as applied to lingerie, which had led it to the conclusion that The Miracle Bra did not threaten to infringe on other trademarks, Victoria's Secret had not conducted a separate trademark search of The Miracle Bra trademark as it applied to swimwear. However, the PTO examining attorney denied Victoria's Secret's application due to its similarity to Miraclesuit because he determined that: (1)Miracle was the dominant feature of each mark; and (2) the product lines overlap. The denial was not appealed.