Ice cream manufacturer Dippin' Dots, Paducah, KY, has litigation pending in Dallas, Atlanta, Miami and Nashville to prevent the sale of a rival product by Frosty Bites Inc., Deerfield, FL.

At issue is the flash-frozen product first introduced in the late 1980s by microbiologist Curt Jones. After experimenting with ice cream recipes and shapes, Jones came up with an almost instant method to cryogenically freeze the pellet-sized ice cream dessert using nitrogen-based vapor. The dessert is stored at -40°F (-40°C) and served at -20°F (-29°C).

Dippin' Dots alleges that Morgan Ayres III of Nashville, a former Dippin' Dots dealer, violated a one-year no-compete agreement and has infringed on its trademark by using a similar logo to sell Frosty Bites. Frosty Bites Inc. maintains that it is lawfully competing in the marketplace.