ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, June 25, 1996 TAG: 9606250052
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
Holiday Inns' number is up - for confusion
CINCINNATI - The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that three companies did not violate trademark law when they used a telephone number similar to Holiday Inns' toll-free reservation line, reversing a lower court's ruling in favor of the hotel chain.
Holiday Inns' reservations number is (800)HOLIDAY. The three defendant companies - 800 Reservation Inc., Earthwinds Travel Inc., and Call Management Systems Inc. - used (800)405-4329, a number reached by mistakenly substituting a zero for the letter ``O'' when dialing ``HOLIDAY.'' Holiday Inns sued in 1993, accusing the defendants of stealing its business and infringing on its trademark, but the judges said Monday that Holiday Inns' rights did not extend to the similar phone number.
``The defendants did not create any confusion. The confusion already existed among the misdialing public,'' the court wrote.
-Associated Press
Sara Lee to buy Italian lingerie firm
CHICAGO - Sara Lee Corp. said Monday it has agreed to buy Italian lingerie manufacturer Lovable Italiana S.p.A for an undisclosed price. The acquisition is expected to be completed this summer. Lovable Italiana, with $115 million in annual sales, is distributed in Europe.
Chicago-based Sara Lee is a global food and consumer products company with $17.7 billion in annual sales. Its lingerie brands include Playtex, Bali and Wonderbra. The company operates a L'eggs hosiery distribution center and PYA/Monarch food service center, both in Salem.
-Associated Press
Newspaper hires outside marketing
The Robert Claiborne Agency Inc. of Roanoke has been named to handle creative services and marketing for The Roanoke Times, which is eliminating its in-house marketing department. Terms of the two-year contract, which takes effect July 1, were not disclosed.
The newspaper's marketing staff designs ads for the retail advertising department and promotional materials for the newspaper. All or part of the four-member staff may be hired by Claiborne, said Cathy Greenberg, marketing services director for the newspaper.
Claiborne, with five employees, has been looking for ways to expand its promotional and media services and its creative staff, said agency President Bill O'Connor.
-Staff report
Coal production up
U.S. coal production rose 2 percent in the week ended June 15, to 20.2 million tons from 19.8 million tons the week before, the Department of Energy said Monday. The industry produced 18.5 million tons in the same week last year.
Virginia mines produced 686,000 tons that week, down from 700,000 tons the previous week and 716,000 tons in the same week last year.
Production so far this year is about 472 million tons, slightly ahead of last year.
-Associated Press
LENGTH: Medium: 66 linesby CNB