Tootsie Roll Sues Maker of Footzyrolls Shoes
Candy giant Tootsie Roll Industries filed a trademark infringement lawsuit this week against shoe company Rollashoe over its Footzyrolls brand of rollable ballet shoes. The suit, filed in a federal court in Illinois, describes Rollashoe's actions as "willful, malicious and fraudulent," claiming the brand name will confuse consumers into thinking that the shoes are associated with Tootsie Rolls' wide range of products. The company also claims that Footzyrolls, launched in 2009, will tarnish the image of the Tootsie Roll brand.
The suit is a modern day David vs. Goliath story, as Tootsie Roll generated $521 million in sales in 2010, while Rollashoe barely cracked $2 million. Tootsie Roll is asking a judge to prohibit Rollashoe from using the Footzyrolls name, and also seeks damages from the much smaller company. Tootsie Roll officials have declined to comment on the suit. Rollashoe, meanwhile, has been happy to speak about the lawsuit, which its owners have called "completely frivolous and without merit."
Rollashoe was founded in 2009 by sisters Jennifer and Sarah Caplan, inspired by an idea from Sarah, who had grown tired of the pain she had to endure because of her fondness of wearing high-heeled shoes. In college, she had always carried a large bag to carry comfortable shoes in, and began wondering why nobody had ever started making shoes that could easily fit into a small handbag. The sisters incorporated Rollashoe, filed for a trademark, and debuted the Footzyrolls line at a trade show later that year.
In less than a year, the Footzyrolls brand grew into a million-dollar business that was featured in Oprah Winfrey's magazine and is now sold in major department stores like Bloomingdales and Fred Segal. The Caplan sisters have already devoted a lot of time and money defending their trademark against Tootsie Roll, and insiders say the dispute will likely cost them a lot more, dragging on for at least another year, and may, in the end, cost them the business as Tootsie Roll's fiscal might proves to vast to overcome.
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