IP Law Daily, TRADEMARK NEWS: California grower sues manufacturer and sellers of holiday ornament confusingly similar to its Cuties clementine, (Nov 18, 2025)

By Carolin Dennis, B.Sc., LL.B., LL.M.

The complaint alleges that the defendants designed, created, manufactured, marketed, and sold a holiday ornament confusingly similar to the “Cuties” clementine that is likely to cause confusion, mistake, and deception regarding the source origin of the defendants’ products and services.

Sun Pacific Shippers, L.P. (Sun Pacific) filed a complaint against Euromarket Designs, Inc. d/b/a Crate & Barrel (Euromarket Designs), Hudson Grace SF (Hudson Grace), and Cody Foster & Co., Inc., (Cody Foster) (collectively, defendants), in the U.S. District Court for Central District of California alleging trademark infringement, trademark dilution, copyright infringement, unfair competition, and common law unfair competition. Sun Pacific seeks preliminary and permanent injunctive relief as well as appropriate compensatory remedies and fees and costs necessitated by the defendants infringement of Sun Pacific’s intellectual property (Sun Pacific Shippers, L.P. v. Euromarket Designs, Inc., No. 2:25-cv-10986 (C.D. Cal. filed on Nov. 14, 2025)).

Sun Pacific is a family-owned enterprise known for producing premium citrus fruits, table grapes, kiwis, and tomatoes. Sun Pacific is among the United States’ leading growers, marketers, and distributors of fresh fruit throughout the United States and in more than 170 countries, encompassing Sun Pacific retail stores, Sun Pacific e-commerce websites, and third-party department and specialty stores. Sun Pacific produces a brand of seedless, easy-to-peel mandarin clementine, famously known as Cuties. Over the decades, Sun Pacific has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into developing, promoting, and protecting its distinctive Cuties brand, which features the Cuties name, logo, and distinctive anthropomorphic Cuties character (Cuties Character). Through these efforts, Cuties has become a household name recognized for quality and freshness, achieving substantial goodwill among consumers and symbolizing the source of origin of Sun Pacific’s products. Sun Pacific is the owner of the exclusive rights to the Cutie trademarks (Sun Pacific Marks) and the wordmark CUTIES (CUTIES Mark). Sun Pacific protects the Sun Pacific Marks and CUTIES Mark through continuous use and licensing, and by protecting the following federal trademark registrations issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Sun Pacific is also the owner of the exclusive rights to the Cutie Character (Cutie Work) through assignment from the Resnick Foundation. Sun Pacific protects the Cutie Work through continuous use and licensing, and by protecting the following federal copyright registrations issued by the United States Copyright Office.

However, the defendants designed, created, manufactured, marketed, and sold a holiday ornament which was confusingly similar to the Cuties clementine, and featured the Cuties Character in its “You’re a Cutie Christmas Tree Ornament” (Infringing Product) without Sun Pacific’s authorization. According to the complaint, Cody Foster manufactures decorative merchandise, including holiday ornaments that are sold under the Hudson Grace label and distributed nationwide. On October 2, 2025, Sun Pacific discovered that the defendants’ advertising, marketing, and sale of the Infringing Product, which blatantly copies the Sun Pacific’s Marks and the CUTIES Mark, without Sun Pacific’s authorization through its Hudson Grace website. Sun Pacific then brought an action against the defendants to address the infringement of Sun Pacific’s registered trademarks and copyrights in the well-known “Cuties” clementine and mandarins, which prominently feature the trademarked brand name “Cuties” and stylized logos, and copyright protected character.

Sun Pacific claimed that the Infringing Product misappropriates the distinctive appearance of Sun Pacific’s famous Cuties clementine. The defendants’ infringement includes the anthropomorphic orange design, identical “Cutie” lettering, and color scheme. Sun Pacific demanded Euromarket Designs immediately cease and desist from infringing on Sun Pacific’s intellectual property rights but Euromarket Designs refused.

Sun Pacific argued that the defendants have unlawfully capitalized on Sun Pacific’s goodwill and cross-market recognition, the goodwill embodied in the Sun Pacific Marks, the CUTIES Mark, and the Sun Pacific Works to gain credibility, mislead and confuse consumers, profit off its reputation and goodwill, and unfairly compete in the marketplace.

Sun Pacific claimed that as a result of Sun Pacific’s extensive and longstanding use of the Sun Pacific Marks and CUTIES Mark, along with Sun Pacific’s substantial investments in their promotion and protection, each of the Sun Pacific Marks and CUTIES Mark have become well-known, widely recognized, and valuable assets of Sun Pacific. The Sun Pacific Marks and CUTIES Mark are critical to Sun Pacific’s brand identity and to the trust that Sun Pacific has built with its consumers.

Sun Pacific also claimed that the defendants’ knowing, willful, and unauthorized use of the Sun Pacific Marks and CUTIES Mark so it is entitled to recover from the defendants the ill-gotten gains, profits and advantages the defendants have obtained as a result of their wrongful acts.

Claims, remedies sought. Sun Pacific is seeking a jury trial and asserts five causes of action: (1) trademark infringement, (2) trademark dilution, (3) copyright infringement, (4) unfair competition, and (5) common law unfair competition. Among other relief, Sun Pacific asks the district court for preliminary and permanent injunctions enjoining the defendants, as well as the defendants’ agents, officers, directors, employees, and all other persons in privity or acting in concert with the defendants, from using the Sun Pacific Marks and CUTIES Mark, or any other marks confusingly similar to the Sun Pacific Marks and CUTIES Mark, to market, advertise, promote, or sell Cuties-related products and services, and from reproducing or otherwise infringing in any manner the Sun Pacific Works. Sun Pacific also asks the district court to grant an order directing the defendants to deliver to Sun Pacific for destruction all products and advertisements, and any marketing or promotional materials that features the Sun Pacific Marks or CUTIES Mark, or any other marks confusingly similar to the Sun Pacific Marks or CUTIES Mark. Additionally, Sun Pacific seeks damages, prejudgment interest, costs, and attorney fees.

The Case is No. 2:25-cv-10986.

Judge: Christensen, S.

Attorneys: Philip Nulud (Buchalter) for Sun Pacific Shippers, L.P.

Companies: Sun Pacific Shippers, L.P.; Euromarket Designs, Inc.; Hudson Grace SF; Cody Foster & Co., Inc.

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