New York – Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical giant which uses a red cross as its trademark, filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the American Red Cross, demanding that the charity halt the use of the red cross symbol on products it sells to the public.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, marked the breakdown of months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, and prompted an angry response from the Red Cross.
“For a multibillion-dollar drug company to claim that the Red Cross violated a criminal statute … simply so that J&J can make more money, is obscene,” said Mark Everson, the Red Cross president.
Johnson & Johnson began using the red cross design as a trademark in 1887 – six years after the creation of the American Red Cross but before it received its congressional charter in 1900.
The lawsuit contends that the charter did not empower the Red Cross to engage in commercial activities competing with a private business.
“We were very disappointed to find that the American Red Cross started a campaign to license the trademark to several businesses for commercial purposes,” Johnson & Johnson said in a statement.
It said these products include baby mitts, nail clippers, combs, toothbrushes and humidifiers.
