BOSTON, Mass. - July 12, 1999 - U.S. District Court Judge Joseph L. Tauro issued a preliminary injunction yesterday against the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP), ordering HP to immediately discontinue infringing on EMC Corporation`s registered trademarks in the naming and marketing of HP products.
EMC, the world`s leading provider of enterprise storage systems, software and services, filed suit on May 25, 1999, in Federal District Court in Boston against HP for trademark infringement and trademark dilution. The lawsuit stems from HP`s May 5 introduction of storage products intended to compete with EMC, named "HP SureStore E Disk Array MC256" and referred to by HP as "E MC256." After attempting to reach an amicable resolution with HP, EMC filed the lawsuit in order to protect EMC`s famous brand name and trademarks. EMC requested a preliminary injunction. Judge Tauro`s order prohibits HP from further use of the letters "MC" in the names of any of HP`s enterprise storage products.
In his decision, Judge Tauro wrote, "HP`s new enterprise storage products - which include the letters `E` and `MC` - are likely to confuse prospective buyers as to the products` source . . . EMC has invested 20 years in developing the goodwill associated with its [trade]marks, while HP has invested only a few weeks. HP chose to adopt a name that uses the letters `E` and `MC,` and apparently made that decision while party to a four-year-old agreement to distribute EMC`s product under EMC`s name. HP, not EMC, should bear the consequences of that decision."
Paul T. Dacier, EMC Vice President and General Counsel, said, "As the market leader in enterprise storage, EMC expects and welcomes honest competition in this dynamic and rapidly growing market. EMC and the EMC logo are protected by registered trademarks. The EMC name has become a globally recognized symbol of the highest-quality, highest-availability, best-performing enterprise storage technology in the world. HP`s attempt to confuse the market and illegally use EMC`s famous name to market an inferior product is an insult to customers and a clear violation of our registered trademarks. We protect our trademarks vigorously and will not permit these deliberate, reckless violations. We are pleased that Judge Tauro granted a preliminary injunction against HP and we expect that HP will comply immediately and discontinue all illegal use of our trademarks."
Background
In January 1999, EMC and HP announced a three-year extension of their reseller agreement, in place since 1995, which enabled HP to market and sell EMC`s industry-leading Symmetrix Enterprise Storage systems and software to HP customers. Four months later, in May, HP introduced new storage products intended to compete with EMC`s systems. Although the primary new product, developed by Hitachi of Japan, was officially named "HP SureStore E Disk Array MC256," HP and its executives repeatedly referred to the new products publicly, in numerous published, online and verbal examples, as "E MC256" and "SureStore E MC256." Both the product name and its widespread abbreviated usage by HP directly infringe on EMC`s registered trademarks ("EMC" and EMC2") and attempt to illegally capitalize on EMC`s recognized worldwide leadership in enterprise storage technology and market share.
EMC Corporation, based in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, is the world`s technology and market leader in the rapidly growing market for intelligent enterprise storage systems, software and services. The company`s products store, retrieve, manage, protect and share information from all major computing environments, including UNIX, Windows NT and mainframe platforms. The company has offices worldwide, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EMC, and is a component of the S&P 500 Index. For further information about EMC and its storage solutions, EMC`s corporate web site can be accessed at http://www.EMC.com.
EMC, Symmetrix and the EMC logo are registered trademarks and EMC Enterprise Storage is a trademark of EMC Corporation.
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