U.S. Court of Appeals Affirms District Court Ruling in Hensley Manufacturing, Inc. v. ProPride, Inc.

Online, September 17, 2009 (Newswire.com) - Grand Blanc, MI - September 9, 2009 - The United States Court of Appeals affirmed a June, 2008 District Court ruling in favor of ProPride, Inc., Sean Woodruff and Jim Hensley.

Hensley Manufacturing sued ProPride, its founder Sean Woodruff, and Jim Hensley in federal district court, asserting, inter alia, a claim for trademark infringement under the Lanham Act. ProPride, Inc., Sean Woodruff and Jim Hensley filed motions to dismiss the complaint, and Hensley Manufacturing filed its own motion for a preliminary injunction. The district court granted motions to dismiss and denied Hensley Manufacturing's motion for a preliminary injunction, holding that ProPride's use of Jim Hensley's name fell under the fair use exception to trademark infringement claims.

"I always knew, from day one, that "The Jim Hensley Hitch Story" needed to be told. A man should receive credit for his contributions to the world and the attempt to block the information from the RV market was a farce," stated Sean Woodruff, President of ProPride, Inc.

"The District Court, and now the U.S. Court of Appeals, agreed that we were in no way attempting to infringe on any trademarks or confuse the market. We're happy this nuisance has been cleared and we can continue to bring improved Jim Hensley hitch designs to the RV industry."

To find out more about the Hensley Hitch and ProPride's latest designs, please visit http://www.ProPrideHitch.com.