DALMATIA DEFENDS ITS RIGHTS. IN FEBRUARY 2017 A FEDERAL JURY FOUND FOODMATCH INC. ILLEGALLY USED DALMATIA'S RECIPE TO MAKE ITS DIVINA FIG SPREAD

Dalmatia Import Group wins jury verdict in first test of new Defend Trade Secrets Act

Miami, Florida, April 11, 2017.  A federal jury issued a verdict  that the Defendants, FoodMatch Inc. and Lancaster Fine Foods,  misappropriated Dalmatia’s proprietary recipe to make fig spread under FoodMatch's own Divina label. 

FoodMatch and Lancaster also flooded the market with a counterfeit (look-alike) fig spread bearing the Dalmatia brand name and packaging in violation of federal trademark law, the jury found.

“For more than 20 years, Dalmatia has worked to establish a reputation with its customers for high-quality, specialty products,” said Dalmatia co-founder and President Maia Magee. “By offering counterfeit products under our company’s name, our former partners have done considerable damage to our brand. We are grateful that the jury upheld our rights against these unscrupulous companies." 

In 2015, after Dalmatia ended its relationship with distributor FoodMatch, the distribution company illegally used Dalmatia’s fig spread recipe to sell the same product under its own Divina brand. In addition to this misuse of trade secrets, FoodMatch and Lancaster also used Dalmatia’s brand and packaging without permission to sell look-alike fig spread bearing Dalmatia's trademarks.

Dalmatia’s suit against FoodMatch included a claim under the new Defend Trade Secrets Act, a measure introduced by Republican Senator Orrin Hatch and signed by President Obama in 2016. The law bolsters the nation’s intellectual property laws, and was created to protect companies like Dalmatia from predatory and unethical actors like FoodMatch and Lancaster Fine Foods.

About Dalmatia®:  Founded in 1995, Dalmatia® invented Fig Spread in America and pioneered the category in cheese departments.  Dalmatia® is dedicated to creating and selling unique spreads and condiments for cheeses.  It supports local and regional farming in Croatia and the Mediterranean.  Dalmatia® uses only first-class fruit and every fig is inspected by hand for quality.  For more information visit www.figspread.com.

The case is Dalmatia Import Group, Inc. v. FoodMatch, Inc. et al. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Case No. 16-cv-02767).

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