Judge Orders Company to Take 3M’s Trademarks Off N95 Masks

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A federal judge has ordered a Florida company accused of selling counterfeit N95 face masks with 3M's name on them to stop using the Minnesota company's trademarks and representing itself as a distributor or authorized retailer for 3M.

Maplewood-based 3M sued Nationwide Source Inc. in late December. The complaint accused the company of selling more than 10,000 of the counterfeit respirators to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

The hospital allegedly paid more than six times above 3M's standard price for the mask used by medical workers and others to protect against the coronavirus.

U. S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright on Friday reportedly granted 3M's request for a preliminary injunction.