Campbell's Company and Michigan Congressional candidate settle trademark lawsuit
A Michigan Congressional candidate and Campbell's Company have settled a federal lawsuit that was filed in October over trademark infringement claims.
The settlement filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan orders Shelby Nicole Campbell, 31, of Detroit, to immediately halt all use of "disputed images" or any other design in her campaign and promotional materials that is "confusingly similar" to the Campbell's Soup trademarks and branding.
Shelby Campbell is running as a Democrat in the 2026 election cycle for Michigan's 13th District, which includes parts of Detroit and some of its Wayne County suburbs. The incumbent representative in that seat is Democrat Shri Thanedar.
The launch of her campaign included a slogan and visual theme that the company said was similar to the design of a Campbell's soup can.
The company said in its lawsuit filing that it had told two election committees in other states to back off on similar styling seen in the Michigan campaign.
The settlement requires all online images, videos or content with that styling on her website and social media content to be removed by Nov. 21.
If Shelby Campbell or the campaign chooses to continue using the term "soup" in promotional media, they may not do so with references to the Campbell's Company soup brands, or in a manner that suggests any endorsement from or affiliation or association to Campbell's.
The case is now considered closed, according to the order signed by Judge Judith E. Levy.
The above video was originally aired on Oct. 13.