Barefoot Contessa, wholly owned by acclaimed chef and TV host Ina Garten, has settled a lawsuit brought before U.S. District Court last month against OFI Imports in Vernon, Calif.
Garten had claimed that OFI Imports had violated intellectual property rights by copying recipes and packaging for frozen seafood meals bearing the name Contessa Chef Inspired. After obtaining a temporary restraining order, the parties reached a mutually agreeable settlement under which OFI agreed to destroy all unauthorized products and to ensure that future products sold under OFI’s Contessa brand not use any Barefoot Contessa intellectual property.
Barefoot Contessa dinners were produced from February 2013 until last spring, when the third-party manufacturer Contessa Premium Foods went out of business. Contessa Premium Foods is unrelated to Barefoot Contessa, despite the similarity of the names, and Garten had no ownership in that company.
OFI purchased assets from Contessa Premium Foods manufacturing company but did not acquire licensing rights for the Barefoot Contessa brand. Garten has not authorized anyone to continue production of any food product line bearing her name.
OFI Imports also markets frozen Mexican shrimp under the Markesa brand, among other seafood products.
