Yankee Candle Company, a leading manufacturer of scented candles, sued competitor Bridgewater Candle Company for trade name

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Yankee Candle Company, a leading manufacturer of scented candles, sued competitor Bridgewater Candle Company for trade name and trade dress infringement. Yankee alleged that Bridgewater’s labels were the same size, had the same border, and featured similar photographs to depict the scents of the candles. For example, the Bridgewater “French Vanilla” photograph has ice cream cones filled with vanilla ice cream, and the Yankee “French Vanilla” only features empty cones with no ice cream. Both the Bridgewater fragrance “Cinnamon Rolls” and the Yankee “Cinnamon” display photographs of cinnamon rolls. However, the Yankee photograph also includes cinnamon sticks, while the Bridgewater rolls highlight the sugary frosting found on a cinnamon roll. Both the Bridgewater “Apple Pie” and the Yankee “Spiced Apple” contain photographs of apple pies. However, the Yankee photograph also features a basket and several apple slices. The Bridgewater photograph contains several whole apples. In addition, in the Bridgewater photographs, the darkish filling is oozing out of the pies, while the Yankee pies are lighter in color and not leaking apple filling.

Yankee also claimed that Bridgewater had infringed its trade dress (1) by copying Yankee’s method of shelving and displaying candles in its stores, called the “Vertical Display System”; (2) by copying the overall “look and feel” of Yankee’s Housewarmer line of candles; and (3) by copying the design of Yankee’s merchandise catalog, specifically its onefragrance- per-page layout.

Is there enough here to support any intellectual property claims by Yankee? Specify what types of and the elements required to establish any possible claims. [Yankee Candle Co., Inc. v Bridgewater Candle Co., LLC, 259 F.3d 25 (1st Cir. 2001)]

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