Jury awards Flying J $7.7 million over copyrighted floor plan

SAN FRANCISCO (Aug. 4, 2000) — Most truck stop operators protect their floors with a coat of wax. Flying J Inc. uses copyright law.

A federal jury in Fresno, Calif., awarded the Utah-based truck stop chain $7.7 million U.S., because a rival truck stop operator based the design of its building on Flying J’s floor plan. Flying J, the largest diesel fuel retailer in North America, operates over 115 truck stops, most of which are based on the copyrighted design.

The jury said the use of the floor plan by Central California Kenworth Inc. and its owner, Tommy G. Pistacchio, violated Flying J’s intellectual property rights when they constructed a truck stop in Modesto, Calif. Evidence at trial showed that Flying J could generate significantly more revenue than its competitors with a fewer number of employees.

“When you’re talking about a facility that is open every minute of the year and that incurs a fully loaded annual cost of $75,000 per minimum wage employee, the savings from an efficient floor plan run into the tens of millions of dollars,” said the company’s lawyer, Ronald S. Katz. “That is why Flying J protected its floor plan with a copyright.”

CCK and Pistacchio have until Aug. 7 to ask the court to overturn the verdict or order a new trial. If that is not successful, they have the right to appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.