mature industries

This may be just me. In fact I’m probably sure it is. But I seem to note a correlation between lawsuits of the sort that make me wonder a bit why they bother and the maturity of the industry in which they take place. And by maturity I mean in terms of industrial growth cycle, and not (necessarily) in terms of developmental psychology. To wit, a claim that had a writeup by Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP:

Hormel Foods has sued rival Campbell’s over the latter’s description of its Chunky Fully Loaded soup as a “stew.”In its lawsuit, Hormel charges Campbell’s with “misrepresenting the nature, characteristics, ingredients, benefits and qualities of its Chunky Fully Loaded soup products in commercial advertising and promotion.”

Which leads me to believe that the soup/stew market is relatively mature. What do you think? Dumb rule?