Tabberone is pronounced tab ber won not tay ber own

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

From Societe Des Products Nestle v Casa Helvetia, 982 F.2d 633 (1st Cir 1992) 1. Animating Principles. Every product is composed of a bundle of special characteristics. The consumer who purchases what he believes is the same product expects to receive those special characteristics on every occasion. Congress enacted the Lanham Trade-Mark Act to realize this expectation with regard to goods bearing a particular trademark. See S.Rep. No. 1333, 19th Cong., 2d Sess., reprinted in 1946 U.S.Code Cong.Serv. 1274. The Act's prophylaxis operates not only in the more obvious cases, involving the sale of inferior goods in derogation of the registrant's mark, but also in the less obvious cases, involving the sale of goods different from, although not necessarily inferior to, the goods that the customer expected to receive. See Truck Equip. Serv. Co. v. Fruehauf Corp., 536 F.2d 1210, 1216 (8th Cir.) (finding a Lanham Act violation even though plaintiff's and defendant's goods were "of equal quality"), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 861, 97 S.Ct. 164, 50 L.Ed.2d 139 (1976); see also 1 J. Thomas McCarthy, Trademarks and Unfair Competition § 3:4, at 113 (2d ed. 1984) (explaining that trademark law embodies consumers' expectations of consistent quality "whether that quality is high, low or mediocre"). By guaranteeing consistency, a trademark wards off both consumer confusion and possible deceit. The system also serves another, equally important, purpose by protecting the trademark owner's goodwill. See Keds Corp. v. Renee Int'l Trading Corp., 888 F.2d 215, 218 (1st Cir.1989); see also S.Rep. No. 1333, supra, 1946 U.S.Code Cong.Serv. at 1274 ("where the owner of a trade-mark has spent energy, time, and money in presenting to the public the product, he is protected in his investment from its misappropriation by pirates and cheats"). Once again, this protection comprises more than merely stopping the sale of inferior goods. Even if an infringer creates a product that rivals or exceeds the quality of the registrant's product, the wrongful sale of the unauthorized product may still deprive the registrant of his ability to shape the contours of his reputation. See Jordan K. Rand, Ltd. v. Lazoff Bros., 537 F.Supp. 587, 597 (D.P.R.1982).