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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"
Edmund Burke


This information is taken directly from the court opinion. It is not taken out of context nor is it altered.

In Shelby Ford v Superperformance, 251 F. Supp. 2d 983 (D. Mass. 2002), the court stated:

Even if Shelby is able to prove that he is the source of the Cobra car (i.e. the producer), he has failed to present any evidence that consumers associate the Cobra design with Shelby, and Shelby alone as source. Proof of secondary meaning entails "vigorous evidentiary requirements." Yankee Candle Co. v. Bridgewater Candle Co., 259 F.3d 25, 43 (1st Cir. 2001). While secondary meaning may be established in a variety of ways, "consumer surveys and testimony are the only direct evidence on this question." Boston Beer Co. v. Slesar Bros. Brewing Co., 9 F.3d 175, 180 (1st Cir.1993). Shelby has submitted survey evidence, compiled by Dr. Jessica Pollner ("Pollner"), a statistician of Price Waterhouse Coopers LLC, who performed face-to-face interviews with sports-car hobbyists at one industry trade show. Although the survey establishes an association between the Cobra design and Shelby, that is insufficient to support a reasonable jury finding in Shelby's favor on the issue of secondary meaning. Rather, Shelby must prove that the primary significance of the Cobra shape in the minds of consumers is to identify Shelby as the single producer. See Wal-Mart, 529 U.S. at 211. He cannot.

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