Deere wins lawsuit barring competitor from using iconic green-yellow combo

Donnelle Eller
The Des Moines Register

Deere & Co., the iconic farm equipment manufacturer, won a lawsuit to protect its "trademark green and yellow color combination."

Following a one-week bench trial in June, a U.S. District Court judge in Paducah, Kentucky, found in favor of Deere, the Moline, Illinois-based farm equipment manufacturer said Tuesday.

In this Monday, Aug. 31, 2015, file photo, John Deere equipment is on display at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Ill.

Deere said the court permanently bans the use of the John Deere colors by FIMCO Inc., a South Dakota company that manufactures and markets agricultural sprayers under the “Ag Spray Equipment” brand name.

Deere, one of Iowa's largest manufacturing employers, said the lawsuit "is part of an ongoing and vigorous effort to protect the company’s trademarks and intellectual property."

The lawsuit claimed that FIMCO’s green and yellow equipment infringed on Deere’s trademark for the color combination.

Deere also claimed that use of the colors by another manufacturer confuses the public as to where the product originated and dilutes the value of the John Deere brand.

In a 107-page decision, the district court found for John Deere on all its claims.

The court ruled John Deere’s green and yellow color combination had qualified as a "'famous' trademark" since as early as the late 1960s, and that FIMCO intentionally chose green and yellow to create an association with the John Deere brand.

The court also found that FIMCO’s use of green and yellow was likely to cause confusion among purchasers as to whether its agricultural equipment was manufactured by or endorsed by John Deere.

Deere said FIMCO is "permanently enjoined from using the combination of green and yellow colors in the manufacture, distribution, marketing, advertising or sale of trailed and wheeled agricultural equipment in any locality within the United States."

The court gave FIMCO 60 days to file with the court a plan on how it will comply with the permanent ban.

Deere has large Iowa plants in Ankeny, Waterloo, Dubuque and Ottumwa.