• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, January 31, 2017

Leo Burnett and its parent Publicis Groupe along with client McDonald’s have been slapped with a trademark and copyright infringement law suit by T-4 Corporation, a Missoula, MT consumer products company.

The suit, filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court alleged that Burnett misappropriated a logo design that includes a heart shape followed by an apostrophe and the letter ‘N’—designed to signify the word “Lovin’”, a word that McDonald’s has used in ad campaign slogans for many years. 

However T-4 alleges that it has held rights to the specific logo design in dispute—and used by McDonald’s in a campaign in 2015 that included the Super Bowl—since 2007.

T-4 alleged that it informed McDonald’s of the infringement and issued a cease and desist letter that the fast food company ignored while continuing to use the mark in its advertising and promotion across an array of media, including TV, social media, email, printed stickers and other outlets.

In addition to injunctive relief, the plaintiff asked the court for “reasonable” damages and attorney fees.

T-4 is the maker of the T-PIK Stringless Dental Flosser. It also markets a tool for squeezing every last drop of toothpaste, paint or glue out of soft tubes called the Squisher/Creaser and other products.

The defendants have not yet responded in court to the allegations.