Judge will not dismiss lawsuit claiming Poland Spring water is not from a spring

[unblock]

6. the problem isn't the name. once upon a time, they specifically claimed it was water from a natural spring

businesses are usually given a lot of leeway in terms of their names and branding. it's specific claims that are a problem.

there are many companies in central new jersey with "princeton" in their name that have nothing to do with the university, because there's a town called "princeton". obviously they are leveraging the prestige of the university, but they can simply say they named themselves after the town, not the university. it's only if they claim to have something to do with the university when they don't, then it becomes a problem.

similarly, there's an area in portland, maine called "poland spring", and the company can brand itself after that area. no problem, even though they are obviously insinuating that their product has something to do with a natural spring.

but the problem, and the lawsuit, is based on specific claims they used to make (but no longer make, afaik), that their water did indeed come from a natural spring.