Do these look similar? Olive oil company with deep Modesto roots is suing saying so

Two California olive oil companies, and Modesto’s tomato processing giant Stanislaus Food Products, are headed to court over similar products and packaging.

The Lodi-based Corto Olive company filed a lawsuit against Southern California-based Gemsa Enterprises in federal court this week for trademark infringement of its 51-49 blended oil brand. Corto Olive, which has been producing and selling olive oil in California since 2006, is owned by the Cortopassi family, who also owns Stanislaus Food Products in Modesto.

Attorneys for Corto Olive, Stanislaus Food and the Cortopassi family sent a cease-and-desist letter to Gemsa in May demanding that the company halt its use of the 51-49 trademark. But representatives for Corto Olive said Gemsa failed to take corrective action, so the lawsuit was filed with the United States District Court for the Central District of California on July 25.

Corto Olive has sold the 51-49 blend, which is 51 percent extra virgin olive oil and 49 percent canola oil, since 2010. The 10-liter product is marketed primarily to restaurants and other food-service distributors for use in salad dressings, finishing entrees, light sautés and other sauces.

Both products feature the “51-49” text prominently on their boxes, accompanied by a sprig of olives and canola flower on the front of the packaging. One of the sides of both boxes also features a spout pouring oil over a salad.

“Gemsa’s attempt to deceive customers into thinking they are buying our product, instead of a commodity knockoff, is so flagrant that we had to take action,” said Tom Cortopassi, senior managing partner of Corto Olive and co-owner of Stanislaus Food Products, in a statement about the lawsuit.

Gemsa Enterprises did not return calls for comment.

Corto Olive, Stanislaus Food and the Cortopassi family are seeking the halt of production and disposal of existing 51-49 Gemsa products in addition to “all monetary gains, profits and advantages derived” from its sale, unspecified punitive damages and attorney fees. But representatives for the companies said the suit’s main objective is to stop Gemsa’s production of its similar product.

The Cortopassi Family Trust initially filed the license for its 51-49 trademark with Corto Olive, which then assigned rights in the trademark to Stanislaus Food Products. The downtown Modesto tomato cannery was founded in 1939 by Peter Quartaroli before the Cortopassi family became part-owner in 1978 and took over full ownership in 1986.

It sells tomatoes and sauces to pizzerias and other Italian restaurants and employs 300 full-time employees and 1,600 seasonal workers.

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This story was originally published July 26, 2018 at 5:13 PM.