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Name change set to settle Smithfield Foods lawsuit
Story Date: 5/1/2013
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Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 4/30/13
A three-year-old business that began as a food truck operator in Durham, N.C., has agreed to change its name to settle a lawsuit filed by a division of Smithfield Foods Inc. over its branding.
Smithfield Foods subsidiary S.F. Investments Inc. sent a cease-and-desist letter to Farmhand Foods in late 2011 asking the company to change its name and give up rights to its Internet domain and other marketing materials using the name “Farmhand Foods.” Smithfield's contention was that "Farmhand" was too close in name to Smithfield-owned Farmland Foods.
The Durham company will change its name to Firsthand Foods, effective May 1, and already has changed its domain name and marketing materials to reflect the new brand, the company said in a release posted on its website.
Firsthand Foods officials said the company received federal trademark protection for the right to use its soon-to-be-former logo and other marketing materials before making the change, although it has yet to update some of its social media efforts, including Twitter.
Firsthand Foods' distribution network serves products from about 40 local pasture-based farms.
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