Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 1/9/17


The USDA has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) against the agency over the sale by National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) to the National Pork Board of the “Pork. The Other White Meat” trademarks.

In 2006 NPPC sold the trademarks to the Pork Board for approximately $35 million. It financed the purchase over 20 years. USDA (which oversees the federal Pork Checkoff) approved the purchase, and the Pork Board’s annual payment was set at about $3 million.

Then in 2012, an Iowa farmer, along with HSUS and the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, filed suit against USDA, alleging that the trademarks were overvalued. The suit sought to have the sale rescinded. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed the suit for lack of standing, but in August 2015 a federal appeals court reinstated it.

Before any proceedings on the merits of the lawsuit, USDA entered into settlement talks with HSUS, according to NPPC. USDA valued the trademarks at $113 million to $132 million. HSUS decided to proceed with the lawsuit despite the higher valuation.

In its motion for summary judgment filed with U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit, USDA is arguing that the HSUS lawsuit lacks merit, is barred by the six-year statute of limitations, that the plaintiffs failed to establish standing to file the lawsuit or show that they were harmed by the sale of the “Pork. The Other White Meat” trademarks and that the agency’s evaluation of the sale of the trademarks showed they provided significant value to the pork industry.

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