Cracker Barrel Restaurant's products barred from grocery stores
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A federal judge in Chicago has temporarily blocked Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from selling branded meats and other food items in grocery stores. (AP)
A federal judge is backing an effort by Kraft Foods to keep Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from expanding into grocery stores.
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman in Chicago granted a preliminary injunction on Monday blocking Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel from selling its branded meats in grocery stores. Kraft claims that would infringe on its own Cracker Barrel-trademarked cheese and confuse consumers.
Cracker Barrel argued that it's not selling cheese, and the distance between the dairy and meat sections would reduce confusion.
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Gettleman says Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft has a good chance of prevailing in its lawsuit.
He says sales of Kraft's Cracker Barrel cheese are strong, and the trademark was registered more than a decade before Cracker Barrel Old Country Store used the name.
Cracker Barrel says it's considering an appeal.