02-1816 AM General Corp. v. DaimlerChrysler Corp.

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“For these reasons, the court finds that DaimlerChrysler’s motion for a preliminary injunction must be denied because (1) DaimlerChrysler has virtually no chance of proving at trial that it had a ‘family of marks’ – grilles with seven to ten vertical slots that appear to be stamped from a planar surface, all of which identify vehicles as Jeep models – when AM General began selling the Humvee with the grille that General Motors intends to use on the H2; (2) DaimlerChrysler waited far too long to contend now that the H2 grille dilutes the uniqueness of the grille now in use on the Jeep Wrangler as an identification of the Wrangler’s source; and (3) DaimlerChrysler has virtually no chance of showing a likelihood of consumer confusion between the Jeep Wrangler and the H2.

“The court also finds that even if DaimlerChrysler had shown some chance of winning at trial on one or both of its claims, a preliminary injunction still would not be appropriate in light of the harm that General Motors, AM General, and the public would suffer if the injunction were issued and DaimlerChrysler lost at trial.”

Affirmed.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Miller, J., Bauer, J.