Ace Hardware sues Ace Bolt & Screw
Ace Hardware is suing the similarly named Ace Bolt & Screw in a trademark dispute.
According to court documents filed in the state of Georgia, Ace Hardware alleges Ace Bolt, which was founded in Jackson, Miss., in 1969, "unfairly competes with Ace <Hardware> by creating confusion that Ace Bolt’s products and services are authorized, sponsored, endorsed, or approved by Ace when they are not."
Ace Hardware offers more context in its complaint, adding: "Over the last few years, Ace Bolt expanded the scope of its business to new customer bases and geographies offering competing products from stores situated, in at least one instance, less than a mile from an Ace location..."
Initially, Ace Hardware claims, Ace Bolt provided product tracing and poly-bagging to professional dealers, which are not services Ace offers.
Recently, however, Ace Bolt has begun stepping on Ace Hardware's toes by expanding its business to include hardware and tool sales and other hardware retail services. It has also expanded geographically. In fact, the company's recent move into a location very close to an Ace Hardware in Buford, Ga., appears to be one of the key points that spurred Ace Hardware into action.
Ace is seeking "injunctive and equitable relief, and monetary damages for the violations of Ace’s proprietary rights and Ace Bolt’s unfair competition," per court documents, and the full freight of allegations reads as follows:
"This is an action for trademark infringement under 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1), trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and unfair competition under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), trademark infringement and unfair competition under Georgia common law, trademark dilution under O.G.C.A. § 10-1-451(b), deceptive trade practices under Georgia’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act under O.G.C.A. § 10-1-371, et seq., and unfair competition under O.G.C.A. § 23-2-55."
No specific amount of damages being sought is listed, though the "amount in controversy exceeds $75,000," the filing states. To bolster its case, Ace Hardware, which owns nearly 260 trademarks according to one source, lists a slew of "Ace and Ace-derivative trademark registrations" in an effort to lay out prima facie evidence for its claims against Ace Bolt. It also attempts to make the case that in the world of hardware, the "Ace" name can mean only one thing. It writes:
"Ace’s trademarks have been so extensively advertised and used over decades, that when consumers see 'ACE' in the hardware business, they assume that Ace is the source of the products or related services."
Ultimately, Ace Hardware attempts to make a case that Ace Bolt's "reckless conduct" is profoundly harming its brand integrity. Ace Hardware claims:
"As a direct result of Ace Bolt’s actions, Ace has suffered, and will continue to suffer, irreparable harm as a result of Ace Bolt’s actions, including, but not limited to, irreparable harm to its reputation, goodwill, business and customer relationships, intellectual property rights, and brand integrity."
