Ben & Jerry’s Wins Temporary Order Against Porn Producers

Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. won a temporary restraining order against the producers of a series of adult-film DVDs with titles and packaging based on its ice cream flavors.

Ben & Jerry’s, a unit of London-based Unilever NV (UNA), sued in New York yesterday to block Caballero Video from selling its “Ben & Cherry’s” series of 10 DVDs with titles including “Peanut Butter D-Cups” and “Boston Cream Thigh.”

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan today ordered Caballero to stop selling and distributing the materials and said all infringing products, labels and advertising must be destroyed or removed from retail shelves immediately.

The judge also directed that the producers appear before him for a hearing on Sept. 12 to say why he shouldn’t issue a preliminary injunction against them.

The DVD packaging features images of naked men and women against backgrounds that copy the design of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream containers including grazing cows and fluffy white clouds, according to Ben & Jerry’s.

A woman who answered the telephone at Caballero’s offices and declined to give her name said the company didn’t have an immediate comment about the judge’s order.

The case is Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. v. Rodax Distributors Inc., 12-CV-6734, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story: Patricia Hurtado in New York at pathurtado@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.