Industry Eye: Shop Talk - Legal Matters, Letter to the Editor

The court also found that the UPC served a quality control function because if defective, the batch containing the defect could be identified, helping facilitate a product recall. Such quality control measures "preserve and protect" trade-
mark values.

The drugstore chain obtained "Cool Water" products from outside of Davidoff's normal distribution channels. Some were found to be counterfeit. On some items, the UPC had been removed by a variety of techniques, including cutting the portion of the box exhibiting the code, using chemicals to wipe it away and grinding away the bottom of the bottles to remove it.