Little Trees

For other uses, see Little tree (disambiguation).
Little Trees hanging from rear view mirror.

Little Trees are disposable air fresheners in the shape of a stylized evergreen tree, marketed for use in cars and most commonly seen hanging from rear-view mirrors of vehicles. They are made of a specially formulated absorbent material produced in a variety of colors and scents.

Little Trees were invented in 1952 in Watertown, New York by a German immigrant and businessman Julius Sämann.[1] They are manufactured in the United States by the Car-Freshner Corporation (such as Royal Pine) at factories in Watertown, New York and DeWitt, Iowa. Several companies in Europe produce Little Trees under license from Julius Sämann Ltd. using the names Wunder-Baum (Sweden, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Romania) and Arbre Magique (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal).[2] The company is known for pursuing lawsuits to protect its trademark.

Trademark

Car-Freshner fiercely defends its trademark on the tree-shaped air freshener design, and has filed several lawsuits[3] against makers of lookalike products, and against companies that use their products in other commercial media.

In 2002, Car-Freshner sued Rite Way Wholesale and Distributors, Inc. of New York for importing and distributing a "vanilla-scented tree shaped air fresheners with a patriotic design". As a result of the judgement, the defendants were required to surrender their entire inventory to the plaintiffs for destruction, and were required to pay an unspecified penalty.[4]

In 2006, they sued Dale Detwiler (owner of the Austin-based Corndog Cards & Novelties) after Detwiler company produced holiday greeting cards that bore a glow-in-the-dark image of a scratch-and-sniff tree-shaped air freshener.[5]

In 2006, they won a suit against UK-based Tetrosyl Ltd for producing a tree-shaped air freshener that "included snow, flashing lights, the shape of a tub at the bottom".[6][7]

In 2009, they sued Getty Images for unauthorized use of its tree-shaped air fresheners in a series of stock photographs.[8][9]

Julius Sämann Ltd. filed a complaint with the Norwegian Industrial Property Office (NIPO) against Bulgarian [10] air-freshener manufacturer Balev Eood for producing an aircraft-shaped air freshener which was somewhat similar in shape to their trademarked fir tree shape. NIPO rejected the complaint, and the Board of Appeal upheld the decision in January 2011.[11]

In 2011, Car-Freshner sued Beck & Call for producing a similar line of tree-shaped promotional air fresheners.[12]

In December 2015, Car-Freshner sued Sun Cedar, a non-profit organization that aimed to provide gainful employment to the homeless and previously incarcerated, for producing tree-shaped air freshners made of cedar wood. In September 2016, unable to cope with the growing legal costs, Sun Cedar filed for bankruptcy [13][14]

Little Trees have been featured in popular media, including the movies The Fisher King, Seven, and Repo Man.[15] The Trees are mentioned by Mike D in the Beastie Boys song, "Slow Ride" ("I got the trees in my mirror/So my car won't smell"). In Sweden the Wunder-Baum brand is sometimes associated with the raggare culture.

Legality

In the United States, many states have regulations concerning obstructed view, objects hanging from the rear view mirror, obstructed windshield, or similar legislation. Citations and/or custodial arrests for violations of such statutes are not unknown.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Little Trees Europe" (Shockwave flash). Retrieved 2006-05-13.
  2. ↑ O'Connor, Deb (August 2005), "Little Trees: An American icon born and raised in Watertown" (PDF), Absolutely Business, pp. 18–23, archived from the original (PDF) on October 9, 2011, retrieved 29 Sep 2011
  3. ↑ "Dockets & Filings - Julius Samann". Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  4. ↑ "Oblon, Spivak Logs A Court Victory For Car-Freshner's "Little Trees"; Counterfeit Air Freshener Trees Turned Over For Destruction". Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  5. ↑ "If a Tree Falls on a Corndog ... Austin novelty card company gets crushed by lawyers and money". Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  6. ↑ "High Court Grants Breathing Space to Tree-Shaped Air Fresheners". Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  7. ↑ "Judgement in the case of Julius Sämann v. Tetrosyl ltd" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  8. ↑ "Something Smells Off: Getty Images Sued Over Silhouette of Air Freshener". Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  9. ↑ "Makers of Pine-Tree Deodorizers Allowed to Proceed With Lawsuit Against Getty Images". Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  10. ↑ "AREON BULGARIA LTD - Perfumery and cosmetics". Kras.net. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
  11. ↑ "Court rules in air freshener case". Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  12. ↑ "Car-Freshner CORPORATION and JULIUS SÄMANN LTD. vs. STANISLAWSKI MARKETINGVENTURES, LLC, D/B/A BECK & CALL". Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  13. ↑ "Trademark Claim Sticks in Fight Over Evergreen Car Fresheners". New York Law Journal. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  14. ↑ "Facing a trademark infringement lawsuit, Sun Cedar files for bankruptcy and closes its doors". LJWorld.com. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  15. ↑ Moos, Jeanne (1996-01-31). "How's your car's fashion 'scents'?". CNN. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
  16. ↑ "Californian Vehicle Code Section 26700-26712".
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