Troutman Pepper, an Atlanta, Georgia-based intellectual property practice, secured a permanent injunction from the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of Guang Tai He Import Export, Inc., a Maryland-based flooring company, allowing the importer to use the term "SPC". 

The defendant’s federal registration of the generic term “SPC,” which is used as an acronym for “stone plastic composite” flooring, resulted in more than 16 containers of the plaintiff’s flooring being detained by U.S. Customs for using the term.

Troutman Pepper Partner Ben Wagner filed an ex parte application for temporary restraining order (TRO), seeking preliminary injunctive relief, detailing the potential for irreparable harm to the client’s business. The court agreed, first granting the TRO and a preliminary injunction, and then the permanent injunction.

“Without the court’s judgement here, our client risked being run out of business for using a generic term that one individual tried to claim a monopoly on,” Wagner said.