From T-shirts to iPads, trademark suits affect all sorts of businesses

Last March, automaker Chrysler Group LLC filed a lawsuit to stop retailer Pure Detroit from selling T-shirts displaying the phrase “Imported from Detroit,” which is featured in award-winning Chrysler 200 campaigns, first premiering during Super Bowl XLV. Now the two companies have agreed to mediation to try to settle their dispute and have until April 3, 2012 to tell U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Hluchaniuk whether they were able to work out a deal, reports www.crainsdetroit.com.

 Pure Detroit countersued in April 2011, claiming the automaker doesn't have a valid trademark because the phrase is geographical, descriptive, and arguably misleading — Chrysler is based in Auburn Hills, and the Chrysler 200 from the advertising campaign is assembled in Sterling Heights

In June, Judge Arthur Tarnow of U.S. District Court rejected Chrysler's motion for a preliminary injunction to halt Pure Detroit's clothing sales. He ruled that the automaker didn't show that it would suffer irreparable harm or that it had a strong likelihood of winning its case.