IPC's Client Dong Phuong Bakery Settles a Lengthy Lawsuit Against Former Graphic Designer
Intellectual Property Consulting (IPC) recently represented their client, Dong Phuong Bakery, in a prolonged legal battle with The Gemini Society, a former graphic design firm. After more than 200 separate legal filings in federal district court and nearly $1 million in combined attorneys' fees, the bakery finally settled with The Gemini Society earlier this year. At issue were the rights to distinctive artwork developed by The Gemini Society for Dong Phuong's pastry boxes, menus, delivery trucks, and a mural on the wall next to the bake shop and restaurant. According to the settlement in February, The Gemini Society retains the copyright to the artwork but agreed to pay $50,000 to the bakery and allow Dong Phuong to keep its trademark DP Bakery.
However, The Gemini Society sued again last month to enforce the settlement, accusing Dong Phuong of breaching their deal during Mardi Gras. The evidence? A marketing video for an Uptown restaurant briefly showed "a stack of the old Gemini-designed king cake boxes next to Dong Phuong's new king cake boxes." Linh Tran Garza, Dong Phuong's president, and daughter of the bakery's founders, told the court it was an honest mistake that occurred before the settlement. The judge accepted that explanation and denied The Gemini Society's claim, ordering them to pay Dong Phuong's legal costs.
The bitterness of the dispute was over what both parties described as a betrayal of their former friendship. The Ramirez family maintained that they had worked for several years on the understanding that they were charging "friends and family rates" and would get rewarded as the Dong Phuong business took off. Garza said that she had paid $300,000 to The Gemini Society for the artwork and claimed she never promised them a cut of sales or profits.
Ultimately, it was costly and left both parties out of pocket, far more than the disputed amount. Despite the difficulties, IPC continues to support Dong Phuong Bakery and its efforts to protect its intellectual property rights. Linh Tran Garza maintained throughout the lawsuit that it wasn't the marketing materials that made Dong Phuong special but rather the exceptional quality and distinctiveness of its king cakes, baked goods, and French bread.
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