The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to consider Kroger's (NYSE:KR) request to block Grubhub from using its fork-and-knife logo, based on claims that it would cause confusion with Kroger's Home Chef meal-kit service logo.
Kroger shares fell close to 1% following the market open.
The justices refused to hear Kroger's appeal of a lower court ruling, which found that Grubhub's logo was not similar enough to Home Chef's to warrant an injunction. Grubhub, a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Just Eat Takeaway.com, adopted its new logo, featuring a silhouette of a house with a fork and knife in the center, after being acquired in 2021.
Kroger, the largest grocery chain in the U.S. by revenue, had sent Grubhub a cease-and-desist letter, arguing that the new logo was too similar to Home Chef's logo, which also features a fork and knife inside a house silhouette.
In response, Grubhub filed a lawsuit in Illinois federal court seeking a declaration that it had not infringed on Kroger's trademark rights. Kroger then sought a preliminary injunction to prevent Grubhub from using its new logo.
While a magistrate judge initially found that consumer confusion was likely enough to justify an injunction, U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle disagreed and denied Kroger's request.