Ben & Jerry’s Sues Porn Seller Over Flavor-Tied Titles

The seller of adult films with titles and packages based on Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. flavors agreed to pull them from the market.

Rodax Distributors Inc., which does business as Caballero Video, yesterday agreed to a court order barring it from selling its “Ben & Cherry’s” series of 10 DVDs with titles including “Peanut Butter D-Cups” and “Boston Cream Thigh” while a trademark suit is under way.

The order requires Caballero to recall the DVDs and to destroy all products, labels and marketing materials that infringe on Ben & Jerry’s trademarks.

Ben & Jerry’s, a unit of London-based Unilever NV (UNA), sued Caballero in federal court in New York Sept. 5, claiming the DVDs and packaging violated its trademarks. The packaging featured images of naked men and women against backgrounds that copy the design of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream containers such as grazing cows and fluffy white clouds, the company said in its complaint.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan issued a temporary restraining order against Caballero on Sept. 6.

The case is Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. v. Rodax Distributors Inc., 12-CV-6734, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporters on this story: Bob Van Voris in Manhattan federal court at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.