
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 29, 1994                    TAG: 9406290350 
SECTION: LOCAL                     PAGE: B1    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940629                                 LENGTH: CHESAPEAKE

WHAT'S IN A NAME? A TRADEMARK LAWSUIT

{LEAD} The sign outside a department store on Battlefield Boulevard says, ``Wal-Mart.''

A mile away, a smaller sign outside a smaller business also says, ``Wal-Mart.''

{REST} But the two aren't related, and now the big chain store has hauled the small local business into court.

In a lawsuit filed recently in Norfolk federal court, Wal-Mart Stores of Bentonville, Ark., accuses Wal-Mart Homes, a company that sells mobile and prefabricated homes at 3349 S. Military Highway, of trademark infringement and unfair competition.

The nation's biggest retailer wants the mobile-home company to turn over all its labels, stationery, business cards, signs, prints and advertising to be destroyed. It also seeks unspecified money damages and a court injunction to stop the alleged name ripoff.

``The goodwill of Wal-Mart's business under its Wal-Mart registered trademark is of enormous value,'' the lawsuit states, ``and Wal-Mart will suffer irreparable harm should infringement be allowed to continue to the detriment of its trade reputation and

goodwill.''

The lawsuit also names Wal-Mart Homes employee Tim Langford as a defendant, even though he apparently is not a principal in the company.

``I don't have anything to do with the business. I'm just a salesman,'' Langford said.

It is not known how long the mobile-home company has been using the name, or why. The company's owner did not return calls, and the company has not yet filed a legal reply.

The lawsuit says Wal-Mart Homes stole the Wal-Mart name to trick the public into thinking that the company's homes are ``approved by, sponsored by, or affiliated with Wal-Mart.''

Wal-Mart Stores says it discovered the infringement in April and asked Wal-Mart Homes to stop using the Wal-Mart name, but the smaller company did not reply.

Wal-Mart Stores also claims that Wal-Mart Homes is not incorporated in Virginia and is not qualified to conduct business in the city of Chesapeake.

State records confirm that Wal-Mart Homes is not a registered corporation in Virginia.

The discount chain wants Wal-Mart Homes to pay triple damages - three times the amount of money Wal-Mart Stores claims it lost because of the alleged infringement. It also wants the mobile-home company to account for all its profits from using the Wal-Mart name.

by CNB