The Margin: Court sides with John Deere in barring farm-equipment rival’s use of green and yellow

It took 107 pages for a Kentucky court to explain a ruling that bans any farm-machinery maker except Deere & Co. from using green in combination with yellow for their equipment.

The court on Tuesday found in favor of Deere

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in a suit aimed at protecting the company’s trademark coloring and brand. The decision bans Fimco Inc., a South Dakota company that makes agricultural sprayers under the Ag Spray Equipment brand name, from painting them green and yellow.

The ruling comes after a one-week trial that took place in June.

Deere argued that Fimco’s use of the same hues confused the public about where its products came from and diluted the value of the Deere brand.

“The court ruled that John Deere’s green and yellow color combination qualified as a ‘famous’ trademark since as early as the late 1960s and that Fimco intentionally chose green and yellow to create an association with the John Deere brand,” Deere said in a statement.

Read also: Deere recalls 25,000 lawn tractors for a ‘crash hazard’

Fimco now has 60 days to file a plan with the court, outlining how it will comply with the ban.

Deere shares were trading up 0.9% Tuesday and have gained 25% in 2017, while the S&P 500

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has risen 14% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average

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has advanced 16%.

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