Universal Percussion Files Suit Against Zildjian

Universal Percussion, Inc. has filed a lawsuit against Avedis Zildjian Co., accusing it of violating Universal Percussion’s rights in the trademarks S and S SERIES, which Universal Percussion has used on cymbals since 2002.

Zildjian recently introduced a line of “S” cymbals and filed an application to register its S mark at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in October 2015.

Universal Percussion alleges that Zildjian intentionally adopted a similar S mark for its cymbals to confuse or deceive customers into believing that Zildjian or its products are affiliated with or sponsored by Universal Percussion. The complaint alleges false designation of origin in violation of the federal trademark statute, along with several claims under Ohio state law. The civil action, which requests a jury trial, an injunction restraining Zildjian from engaging in any further infringement, and an unspecified amount of damages, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (No. 4:16-cv-00832) by plaintiff’s attorneys Thomas L. Holt, Caroline A. Teichner, and Brandon M. White of Perkins Coie LLP.

MMR reached out to representatives from Zildjian. As of April 11, 2016, there has been no response.

On March 30th of this year, MMR reported that Universal Percussion had filed a lawsuit against Guitar Center, accusing the retailer of bait-and-switch selling tactics.