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Montblanc Pen Company Sued Cross Pen Maker

Mont Blanc NA, industry leader of premium class pens and other luxury goods like leather poaches, sunglasses, etc. has sued A.T. Cross Co. for trademark infringement and false advertising for marketing its refills with the Montblanc trademark conspicuously on the package.

Getting straight to the point, Montblanc representatives have asked a New York district court for a preliminary injunction to stop Cross from selling the pen refills in concern. Looks like these competing executive pen manufacturers have “crossed” paths before. In 2003, Mont Blanc sent a similar demand to Cross, who promised to address the issue. Apparently, that was the ultimate altercation.

A German maker of upscale pens whose customers have included such luminaries as Ernest Hemingway, has filed suit against American rival A.T. Cross (ATX), which started selling ink refills for Montblanc pens, as well as a model that looks very much like Montblanc’s flagship Meisterstuck model.

In its suit, Mont Blanc claims that Cross is taking significant advantage of the goodwill and equity built up in the mark Montblanc by featuring it so conspicuously on the Cross packaging so as to appeal and mislead customers. What’s even worse, the Cross brand itself is missing from the package whatsoever. Mont Blanc claims the refills’ descriptions do not reflect fair use of its trustmark and asks to have its name removed from all the refillers. For Cross’ part, the representatives could not be reached for any remarks as to the situation described.

It’s not illegal to manufacture refills that fit other companies’ pens, but Montblanc insists that Cross’s packaging is purposefully misleading and infringes on Mont Blanc company’s trademarks. Montblanc’s filing contends that the white-blister package is marked with “gratuitous use of the word ‘Mont Blanc’ three times in prominent, bold lettering” accompanied only by “the relatively small and obscure use of the Penatia brand” at the very bottom of the wrapping.

The labeling could easily confuse a consumer into thinking the refills originated with Montblanc, the complaint contends.

Montblanc fears Cross will cheapen its image: The refills it markets for its own pens normally sell for $6 apiece, vs. Cross’s Penatia brand refills, which sell for $4.09 for two at Staples. But it’s not just about the money. The way Mont Blanc North America Chief Executive J. Patrick Schmitz describes it, the ink refill is practically the soul of a good pen. “With a ballpoint, the ultimate writing experience comes from the refill,” Schmitz says. “It comes with the feel, the touch of the pen on the page — does [the ink] begin right away? Is there a straight line? Does it break off between certain letters?”

Montblanc isn’t the only rival whose pens Penatia makes refills for, either. At Office Depot and SPLS, customers can also purchase low-cost refills for Parker, Waterman, Paper Mate, and Fischer pens (representatives at these companies said they had no idea of what Penatia was or produced). The Cross subsidiary even makes lower-cost refills for Cross ballpoint pens.

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