Containers of Danone's Dannon Yogurt are displayed in a supermarket in New York City, U.S., February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Chobani urged a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit by Danone, the parent of rival U.S. yogurt brand Dannon, claiming it copied packaging and the "Bright & Mellow" slogan for a competing line of ready-to-drink cold brew coffee.

Danone accused Chobani in July of "knowing, calculated, and systematic" trademark infringement for selling La Colombe coffee, whose yellow-and-black packaging looked similar to its own SToK coffee and would confuse consumers.

In a late Monday filing in Manhattan federal court, Chobani said it made fair use of "bright" and "mellow."

It called the words generic terms that describe flavors that coffee drinkers might expect and cannot be trademarked.

Chobani also said consumers could use "Bright & Mellow" to distinguish that variety of SToK coffee from "Bold & Smooth" and "Extra Bold" varieties. It said there was no evidence that consumers associated the phrase with Danone.

"The term 'Bright & Mellow' simply tells consumers that the La Colombe product is a bright and mellow coffee," Chobani said. "Danone's lawsuit is an opportunistic attempt to weaponize trademark law against a superior competitor."

In a statement, Danone's U.S. subsidiary said: "We stand by our SToK Cold Brew packaging and the brand we have built across our portfolio."

The lawsuit is at least the third between Danone and Chobani in the last decade.

Chobani, based in Norwich, New York, bought La Colombe for $900 million in December 2023. Danone is based in Paris, and the U.S. subsidiary is based in White Plains, New York.

The case is Danone US LLC et al v Chobani LLC, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 25-06217.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New YorkEditing by Tomasz Janowski and Aurora Ellis)