Who Can Use the Names of Defunct Sports Teams: Residual Goodwill and Trademark Abandonment

Trademarks are, of course, source identifiers. They are intended to be used to identify a particular source of a particular good or service. But what happens if the source no longer exists, yet consumers are still aware of the original source? Who, if anyone, can adopt that mark? As with so much in the law, it turns out the answer is simple: it depends.

A. Court Decisions Regarding Former Team Names

1. Brooklyn Dodgers (MLB)

The Brooklyn Dodgers were one of the original baseball teams in Major League Baseball (“MLB”), playing in New York from 1883 until 1958—when they moved to Los Angeles and became the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1993, the LA Dodgers and MLB sued a New York sports bar—operating as The Brooklyn Dodger Sports Bar and Restaurant since 1987—for trademark infringement. See Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. v. Sed Non Olet Denarisu, Ltd., 817 F.Supp. 1103, 1131 (S.D.N.Y. 1993), vacated pursuant to settlement, 859 F.Supp. 80 (S.D.N.Y. 1994). 

After a bench trial, the court found no likelihood of confusion but also found in favor of the defendant’s affirmative defense of abandonment. Noting that a finding of abandonment requires evidence of both (a) non-use and (b) lack of intent to resume use, the court determined the LA Dodgers had neither (a) continued their use following their move from New York to LA nor (b) established any intent to resume commercial use of the mark. The court rejected any suggestion that “residual goodwill” existed in the Brooklyn Dodger’s name because, according to the court, such residual goodwill only exists where “the proponent of a mark stops using it but demonstrates an intent to keep the mark alive for use in resumed business.” Here, the Dodgers had “unequivocally” declared their intent to discontinue use.

Presumably in light of the potential financial impact such an abandonment finding would have on the LA Dodgers and MLB’s licensing activities (which the court observed had grown from $200 million in 1986 to over $2 billion in 1991), the parties quickly settled, and the order was vacated pursuant to that settlement agreement.

2. Baltimore Colts (NFL)

Following the trend of controversial moves, the Baltimore Colts were a National Football League (“NFL”) team from 1953 until their sudden and secretive move to Indianapolis in 1983. Years later, the Indianapolis Colts sued a Canadian Football League team looking to play in Baltimore as the “Baltimore CFL Colts.”  See Indianapolis Colts, Inc. v. Metropolitan Baltimore Football Club Ltd. P’ship, 34 F.3d 410 (7th Cir. 1994). The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals observed that the district court held the old “Baltimore Colts” name had been abandoned (but neither agreed nor disagreed) and remarked that “when a mark is abandoned, it returns to the public domain and is appropriable anew—in principle.” Indianapolis Colts, 34 F.3d at 412 (emphasis added). This “in principle” was a major caveat, as the district court had found a high likelihood of confusion during the preliminary injunction briefing due to the striking similarity between the names “Baltimore Colts” and “Indianapolis Colts.” The Seventh Circuit affirmed this finding, in part, because of the confusion resulting “by virtue of the history of the Indianapolis Colts franchise. Id. at 413 (emphasis added). In affirming, the Seventh Circuit expressly rejected the Brooklyn Dodgers decisions discussed above, noting how that dispute was between a restaurant and a baseball team so there was no real risk of confusion.

B. Potential Impact on Extant Registrations

In Brooklyn Dodgers, the court found the team had abandoned its former name because there was insufficient evidence of any intent to resume using the old name in commerce. It also rejected any impact of lingering goodwill (i.e., consumer awareness and association) in the original Brooklyn Dodgers moniker. In Baltimore Colts, the appellate court agreed there was a likelihood of confusion, despite the apparent abandonment of the former name, specifically because of the “history” of the senior user’s franchise. The fact that Brooklyn dealt with a restaurateur versus an MLB team, whereas Baltimore dealt with an NFL team versus a CFL team, seems to be a major distinction.

So what, then, should become of existing registrations for other defunct teams?

1. Montreal Expos (MLB)

The Montreal Expos were a professional baseball team from 1969 until 2004. The Expos logo was registered as Reg. No. 1,873,010 in 1995 for use in connection with a variety of classes, including keychains, mugs, clothing, toys, and “entertainment services in the nature of baseball exhibitions.” In 2004, the team moved to Washington, D.C., and became the Washington Nationals. The registration, however, remains valid and subsisting—owned, interestingly, by Major League Baseball. In both 2005 and 2015, one and eleven years, respectively, after the team moved, specimens were filed for Section 8 and 9 renewals showing a keychain. These were accepted as evidence of use for all classes.

2. Seattle Supersonics (NBA)

The Seattle Supersonics were a National Basketball Association (“NBA”) team from 1967 until 2008. The Supersonics logo was registered at TM Reg. No. 1,831,387 in 1994 for use in connection with both clothing goods and “entertainment services; namely, basketball competitions.” In 2008, the team moved to Oklahoma City and became the Oklahoma City Thunder. Like the Expos, the Supersonics registration remains valid and subsisting. In 2013, five years after the team relocated, a specimen including a screenshot of a www.NBA.com webpage displaying a video of a 1979 Supersonics game was submitted and accepted for all classes as evidence of the use of the mark in connection with clothing and basketball games.

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At least as of their 2015 renewal, the Expos had not played a game as the Expos in over a decade. Yet, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) was not keen to analyze the specimen too closely—for it certainly does not demonstrate use in connection with playing actual baseball games. Similarly, as of the 2013 renewal, the Supersonics had not played a game as the Supersonics in five years, but, again, the PTO did not examine the specimen and accepted it for all classes. 

The matter of registration stands apart from the question of whether use by a third-party junior user would be tolerated. Residual goodwill—continued consumer association with either mark after abandonment—is likely to be more significant in a potential infringement scenario, especially concerning the likelihood of confusion analysis, akin to the Baltimore Colts case.

The Supreme Court to Determine Whether Parody Dog Toys Are Allowable Under Federal Trademark Laws

Author: Benni Amato

We previously wrote about the trademark and trade dress dispute between Jack Daniels and VIP Products’ “Bad Spaniels” parody toy here. Approximately two years later, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to weigh in on the case.

Original Motions for Summary Judgment
In 2016, the District Court of Arizona ruled on the parties motions for summary judgment. VIP Prod., LLC v. Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc., No. CV-14-2057-PHX-SMM, 2016 WL 5408313 (D. Ariz. Sept. 27, 2016). The district court ruled in Jack Daniels’ favor that its marks were valid and rejected VIP’s nominative fair use defense and First Amendment fair use defense. The district court held a four-day bench trial on Jack Daniels’ claims for trademark infringement and dilution in 2017. In 2018, the district court issued a Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order that VIP’s Bad Spaniels toy infringed on and diluted Jack Daniels’ trademark and trade dress and issued an injunction prohibiting VIP from selling the Bad Spaniels toy. VIP Prod., LLC v. Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc., 291 F.Supp.3d 891, 897 (D. Ariz. 2018).

Ninth Circuit Reversal
VIP appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2020, the Ninth Circuit affirmed that Jack Daniels’ trademarks were valid and that VIP’s nominative fair use defense was not, but reversed the district court’s other findings. VIP Prod. LLC v. Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc., 953 F.3d 1170, 1172 (9th Cir. 2020). The Ninth Circuit found that VIP did not dilute the Jack Daniels marks because the Bad Spaniels toy was used to convey a humorous message, which the First Amendment protected. Further, because the Ninth Circuit found the Bad Spaniels toy to be an expressive work, no likelihood of confusion analysis could take place unless Jack Daniels established one of the two Rogers test requirements—namely, whether VIP’s use of the mark was either “not artistically relevant to the underlying work,” or “explicitly misleads consumers as to the source of content of the work.” In 2020, Jack Daniels filed a petition for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, which was denied in early 2021. Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Prod. LLC, 141 S. Ct. 1054 (2021).

Summary Judgment on the Rogers Test
On remand to the district court, VIP moved for summary judgment, arguing that Jack Daniels could not satisfy either prong of the Rogers test. As to the first prong of artistic relevance, the district court noted that under the Rogers test, any non-zero level of artistic relevance is sufficient. VIP Prod. LLC v. Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc., No. CV-14-02057-PHX-SMM, 2021 WL 5710730 (D. Ariz. Oct. 8, 2021). Since the Bad Spaniels toy relies on Jack Daniels’ trade dress as its punchline, it was found to be artistically relevant.

As to the second prong of being explicitly misleading, the district court noted that this “is a high bar that requires the use to be an explicit indication, overt claim, or explicit misstatement about the source of the work.” Consumer perception or confusion is irrelevant; instead, what is relevant is: (1) the degree to which VIP used the mark in the same way as Jack Daniels, and (2) the extent to which VIP added its expressive content to the work beyond the mark itself. Although the Bad Spaniels toy heavily imitated the Jack Daniels trade dress, nearly every element was altered with VIP’s expressive content. Thus, Jack Daniels could satisfy neither prong of the Rogers test.

That said, the district court criticized the Rogers test, as almost no court has ever found a mark to be irrelevant to a junior use, and the “explicitly misleading” standard displaces the likelihood of confusion test and excuses almost every use short of “slapping another’s trademark on your own work and calling it your own.” Nonetheless, the district court noted that it was bound by Ninth Circuit precedent and ruled in VIP’s favor. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s rulings, and Jack Daniels again petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari, the questions on appeal virtually identical to its first petition. VIP Prod. LLC v. Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc., No. 21-16969, 2022 WL 1654040 (9th Cir. Mar. 18, 2022). This time, however, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari. Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Prod. LLC, 143 S. Ct. 476 (2022).

Questions Before the Supreme Court
The questions before the Supreme Court are (1) whether the Bad Spaniels parody products are subject to the traditional likelihood of confusion test or the Rogers test that provides heightened First Amendment protection, and (2) whether the Bad Spaniels parody products are “non-commercial” under 15 USC § 1125(c)(3)(C) and thus prevented from a trademark dilution by tarnishment claim. Previously, the Ninth Circuit had reasoned that speech is non-commercial “if it does more than propose a commercial transaction…and contains some ‘protected expression’…even if used to ‘sell’ a product.” Because the Bad Spaniels product was used to “convey a humorous message” protected by the First Amendment, the Ninth Circuit ruled that VIP was entitled to summary judgment regarding federal and state law dilution claims. The parties are briefing the Supreme Court on these issues, and while no dates have been set for oral arguments, we anticipate the Supreme Court will issue a decision by the end of this year.

About the Author: Benni Amato is a partner in Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. Her practice focuses on litigation matters involving trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, patents, internet issues, cybersecurity, contractual disputes, domain name arbitrations, and trademark and copyright prosecution and licensing. Ms. Amato’s biography can be found here.

TTAB Considers Internet Archive Evidence in Opposition Proceeding

Author: Gregory Brescia

In Spiritline Cruises LLC v. Tour Mgmt. Serv’s, Inc., Oppo. No. 91224000, the TTAB held that use of the Internet Archive tool, known as the “Wayback Machine,” for evidentiary purposes was permitted. In making this determination, the Board addressed hearsay and authentication issues, and held: (1) the evidence fell within the business record hearsay exception; and (2) the affidavit submitted by Spiritline served as an appropriate means to authenticate the Wayback Machine printouts.

Background

Spiritline Cruises LLC (“Spirtline”) opposed the registration of the mark “CHARLESTON HARBOR TOURS,” owned by Tour Management Services, Inc. (“TMS”) for travel tours and boat charter related services. In its Notice of Opposition, Spiritline claimed that the “CHARLESTON HARBOR TOURS” mark is incapable of registration because it is geographically descriptive and has been used in its descriptive manner by many parties, in addition to Spritline, in the marketplace. In response, TMS claimed it made substantially exclusive use of the “CHARLESTON HARBOR TOURS” mark for at least five years prior to filing its application for registration and that the evidence submitted by Spiritline were largely recent uses in order to attempt to block registration of TMS’s application.

To support its claims, Spiritline submitted various printouts utilizing the Wayback Machine to illustrate third-party use of the “CHARLESTON HARBOR TOURS” mark between 2004 and 2015. The purpose of introducing this evidence was to discount TMS’s claim of substantial exclusive use of the “CHARLESTON HARBOR TOURS” mark. The evidence submitted by Spiritline was further accompanied by an affidavit instructing the Board of what the printouts were, how they were acquired, and the relevant dates associated therewith. The specificity provided by Spiritline’s affiant regarding the Internet crawling and archiving process was heavily regarded by the Board and served as a means to obviate authentication issues. Not surprisingly, TMS objected to the introduction of the Wayback Machine evidence claiming it was hearsay; however, the Board overruled and held that the evidence and supporting affidavit qualified under the business record exception. The Board further held that the evidence was properly authenticated and a proper foundation was laid via an affidavit to support the intended evidentiary use. As a result, the Board allowed numerous Internet printouts in to evidence to illustrate not only what they showed on their face, but to establish that TMS did not exercise substantially exclusive control over the “CHARLESTON HARBOR TOURS” mark. In fact, the evidence made it clear that the “CHARLESTON HARBOR TOURS” mark was frequently used on a number of third-party websites without challenge. Ultimately, after review and consideration of the various arguments and evidence submitted throughout the duration of the proceeding, the Board held TMS’s application for “CHARLESTON HARBOR TOURS” should be refused from registration.

The use of the Wayback Machine in this case is important because it provides specific instructions for properly authenticating and admitting such evidence in a TTAB action. As seen in this matter, the Wayback Machine evidence played a paramount role in establishing third party use of the “CHARLESTON HARBOR TOURS” mark. This tool can likewise be used to provide support on issues related to priority of use, abandonment, no bona fide use of the mark at the time of filing an in-use application, fraud, and issues related to a mark becoming generic. This TTAB ruling is instructive on avoiding potential hearsay and authentication related issues when using records from the Wayback Machine.

About the author: Gregory Brescia is a registered patent attorney and a Partner in Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. His practice focuses on intellectual property prosecution and litigation. He also counsels clients on intellectual property enforcement and corporate transactions involving formation, compliance, and licensing. Mr. Brescia’s biography can be found here.

Second COVID Relief Bill Brings Relief to Trademark Plaintiffs, Expressly Restoring Presumption of Irreparable Harm to Trademark Cases

Author: Patrick Mulkern

On December 27, 2020, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2021. Although this legislation garnered considerable attention for its COVID-related relief provisions, it also incorporated the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”)—first introduced back in March of 2020 as H.R. 6196. The TMA makes several sweeping changes to the trademark examination process, including new methods to address the growing number of registrations covering marks not actually used in commerce; protects the administrative law judges of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board against certain challenges; and reinstates the presumption of irreparable harm (for those Circuits that had rejected it in recent years). On the whole, commentators speculate the changes brought about by the TMA may turn out to be some of the most consequential changes in the last thirty years.

Part I – Restoration of Presumption of Irreparable Harm

First, and foremost, the TMA expressly restores the presumption of irreparable harm that trademark infringement plaintiffs used to enjoy prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in eBay v. MercExchange, LLC, 547 U.S. 388 (2006). Specifically, the TMA amends the Lanham Act to state a “plaintiff seeking an injunction shall be entitled to a rebuttable presumption of irreparable harm” upon a finding of a violation or likelihood of success. See H.R. 6196 § 6 (amending 15 U.S.C. § 1116) (emphasis added). This change directly addresses a circuit split in how some trademark plaintiffs were treated when seeking injunctive relief—codifying what some Circuits (i.e., Fifth and Eighth) already applied in trademark litigation, and rejecting what other Circuits (i.e., Third, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits) had been doing post-eBay. Prior to the TMA, a trademark owner’s change of success in obtaining injunctive relief was therefore entirely dependent on the geographic location of its case—clearly encouraging forum shopping. Now, such inconsistencies should be resolved.

Two questions remain, however, with respect to the presumption. One, while the other sections of the TMA expressly state when they are to become effective (see infra), the irreparable harm portion of the TMA contains no such express language. Instead, Section 6(b) of the TMA simply states that this amendment “shall not be construed to mean that a plaintiff seeking an injunction was not entitled to a presumption of irreparable harm before the date of the enactment of this Act.” While not a paragon of clarity, this language appears to invoke arcane and technical rules regarding “enactment” more fit for Schoolhouse Rock1—all of which suggest the presumption was restored the moment the President signed the bill into law.2 It is possible this language may result in a deluge of motions for reconsideration similar to those seen in the patent context following the Supreme Court’s ruling on venue in T.C. Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Grp. Brand LLC, 137 S.Ct. 1514 (2017).

Two, there is uncertainty with respect to whether the “restored” presumption shifts the burden of persuasion or merely the burden of production. It would appear that the presumption that existed prior to eBay was merely one of production—with courts requiring the movant satisfy its burden of persuasion in establishing irreparable harm.3 The default, as provided for by the Federal Rules of Evidence, further supports such an interpretation—with Fed. R. Evid. 301 explaining that any presumption is one “of producing evidence to rebut the presumption” and “does not shift the burden of persuasion.” Ultimately, notwithstanding the presumption, a defendant could potentially put the onus back on plaintiff where the defendant is able to present prima facie evidence regarding the lack of irreparable harm.

Part II – Changes to TM Examination and Post-Registration Review Processes

Next, the TMA provides changes to both inter partes trademark examination procedures and ex parte challenges to existing registrations.

1. Codification of Letters of Protest Procedures

Section 3 of the TMA expressly permits submission of third party evidence, formalizing the previous “Letters of Protest” process. The new formalities now require the submission include a description/identification of the relevant ground for refusal and requires the PTO to act on any such submissions within two months. The amendments also permit the PTO to charge a fee for submitting such evidence.

2. Allowing Shortened Time to Respond to Office Actions

Section 4 of the TMA amends the previously ubiquitous six month deadline for responses to office actions, and grants the PTO authority to prepare and promulgate regulations which will govern how and what the new/different response periods will be. The new response deadlines will range from two to six months, and the TMA also allows for extensions of time under those same forthcoming regulations.

3. Ex Parte Challenges to Subsisting Registrations

Section 5 of the TMA creates two new avenues for cancelling registrations, both of which serve as ex parte alternatives to traditional cancellation proceedings—all meant to address the growing concern of an overcrowded registration. The first, creating a new Section 16A entitled “Ex Parte Expungement,” allows for the expungement of registrations that have never been used in commerce. Challenges under this new section can be filed during the first 3 years of a registration’s existence. The second, creating a new Section 16B entitled “Ex Parte Reexamination,” allows for a challenge to registrations that were not in use (a) as of the date of first claimed use, or (b) when the application was filed. Challenges under this new section can be filed during the first 5 years of a registration’s existence. As above, the PTO Director was also authorized to develop and promulgate enacting regulations.

Unlike the changes identified above in Section 6 (restoring the presumption of irreparable harm), the changes enacted in Sections 3, 4, and 5 are all set to take effect in one year. This will provide the PTO time to ramp up the administrative infrastructure needed to implement these changes.

Part III – Confirming Independence of TTAB ALJs

Finally, Section 8 of the TMA provides express statements regarding the scope of the PTO Director’s authority with respect to the administrative law judges (ALJs) of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). Specifically, it amends the Lanham Act to entrust the Director with “the authority to reconsider, and modify or set aside, a decision of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.” The changes, of course, do not require the Director to reconsider, modify, or set aside any particular TTAB decisions—it simply provides the Director authority to do so. These changes come in response to recent challenges in which litigants have attempted to argue that the TTAB’s ALJs are unconstitutional “Officers of the United States” (as they are not confirmed by the Senate) because of a perceived lack of control by the PTO Director.4

Conclusion

While the restoration of the presumption of irreparable harm may capture the most attention, and despite providing harmony to the circuits in resolving a long-standing split, it is unclear whether such a change will result in much change in practice. Its most lasting effect may simply be one of procedure—reducing the amount of forum shopping. For trademark prosecutors, the changes to examination procedures are much more likely to have real world, day-to-day impact—with suddenly differing deadlines (no longer uniform 6 month responses), formalized requirements for Letters of Protest submissions, and new methods of seeking cancellation of unused registrations.

About the author: Patrick J. Mulkern is senior counsel and a member of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. His practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and transactional matters, with a particular emphasis on patent, trademark, and trade secret litigation. Mr. Mulkern is a registered patent attorney and his biography can be found here.
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1 See Lander and Berkowitz, P.C. v. Transfirst Heatlh Servs., Inc., Case No. 05-cv-527 (E.D. Mo.), Dkt. 21 at n.1 (holding the date of a law’s “enactment” was “the day when it was signed into law by the President” and observing: “Although it is certainly not binding precedent, the parties may recall a popular episode of the television series Schoolhouse Rock” titled I’m Just a Bill. In that episode, Bill sang, “I’m just a bill/Yes, I’m only a bill/And if they vote for me on Capitol Hill/Well, then I’m off to the White House/Where I’ll wait in a line/With a lot of other bills/For the president to sign/And if he signs me, then I’ll be a law/How I hope and pray that he will/But today I am still just a bill.”).
2 See, e.g., Gozlon-Peretz v. United States, 498 U.S. 395, 404 (1991) (“It is well established that, absent a clear direction by Congress to the contrary, a law takes effect on the date of its enactment.”); Garnder v. Collector of Customs, 73 U.S. 499, 406 (1867) (“The simple signing of his name at the appropriate place is the one act which the Constitution requires of [the President] as the evidence of his approval, and upon his performance of this act the bill becomes a law.”).
3 See, e.g., Peter Letterese & Assoc., Inc. v. World Inst. of Scientology Enterps., Inc., Case No. 04-cv-1178, 2005 WL 8167094, at *1 (S.D. Fla. May 27, 2005) (finding plaintiff failed to establish irreparable harm despite presumption).
4 See Schiedmayer Celesta GmbH v. Piano Factory Grp., Case No. 2020-1196 (Fed. Cir. No. 8, 2019); Coca-Cola Co. v. Somohano-Soler, Case No. 2020-1245 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 27, 2019).

Lady A vs. Lady A: (Trademark) Battle of the Bands

Author: Hannah Brown

The tragic death of George Floyd last summer sparked nationwide protests and activism. This response and demand for change led to noteworthy decisions by many corporations and entities. Quaker Oats announced its plans to rebrand its Aunt Jemima brand of syrup and pancake mix because the company recognized that “Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype.” The companies that own Mrs. Butterworth’s and Cream of Wheat also proclaimed their intent to reshape the brands’ images. The Washington Redskins announced that they would no longer use the name and logo “Redskins” and the team (for now and maybe permanently) will go by the name the “Washington Football Team.”1

Further, in June 2020, a country band that had gone by the name “Lady Antebellum” since it was formed in 2006 officially changed its name to “Lady A.” The band issued a public statement, noting that they named the band after the southern “antebellum” style home where they took their first photos together, but they “did not take into account the associations that weigh down this word referring to the period of history before The Civil War, which includes slavery.” The band pledged to drop the word “antebellum” and “move forward as Lady A, the nickname [their] fans gave [them] almost from the start.”

Following this announcement, the band was criticized by blues singer Anita White, who claims she has recorded music and performed under the name Lady A for decades. The parties attempted to work out a way where they could both use the name, with the band offering Ms. White money for legal fees and a promise to help her with her career if she gave them rights to use the name Lady A. Ms. White did not agree to these terms and requested a $10 million payment to allow the band to continue to use the mark. The band did not accept and filed suit in Tennessee federal court, seeking declaratory judgment that the band’s trademarks incorporating “Lady A” do not infringe any of Ms. White’s rights in “Lady A.” The band claims it has been using “Lady A” interchangeably with “Lady Antebellum” since 2006. The band attached evidence to its complaint that it registered the trademark “Lady A” for musical records and for entertainment services in 2010 and 2011. Ms. White did not oppose or contest the registrations, which are now incontestable. See Section 15 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1065. The band also notes that Ms. White never applied to register “Lady A” as a trademark. The band specifies in its complaint that it does not wish to prohibit Ms. White from performing as “Lady A” nor does it seek damages; instead, it wishes to peacefully coexist with her.

Ms. White countersued in Washington federal court, alleging that the band “usurped” her brand and caused her to lose business and status. She brings causes of action for trademark infringement and unfair competition, claiming that she has used the stage name and trademark “Lady A” for nearly thirty years and has thus accrued common law rights in the trademark. She seeks an injunction and damages.

Both cases are still ongoing and nothing on the merits has been decided. There seems to be no dispute that the band has been using the name “Lady A” for at least a decade; they submitted proof of online articles, clothing, and other evidence that they can be associated by the name as well as by the name “Lady Antebellum.” The band also registered the mark, while Ms. White did not. The band notes the incontestability status of their marks, but this is likely not something that will help them in this case. Incontestability relates to the validity of a mark, not the strength of the mark. The mark’s registration as incontestable is not relevant to the issue of whether the mark is sufficient to trigger confusion. An incontestable mark is also subject to the challenge that another party used the mark in commerce first—before the incontestable mark’s registration. This is what Ms. White is claiming, that she used the mark in commerce first through performances and music sales. Ms. White claims she released albums as “Lady A” since 2006 and has been performing using the name since at least the early 1990s.

The band also claims that Ms. White has never used “Lady ‘A’” as a trademark to identify her goods or as a service mark to identify her entertainment services, and, if she did use it as a trademark, it was after the band established their rights in the mark. Ms. White disagrees, stating she has used the name for decades.

Ms. White will need to prove the territory in which she has continued to use the mark without significant interruption since prior to the band’s use in that territory. The band is nationally, if not internationally, known, but, as of now, it appears that Ms. White’s territory of use is not so clear or established. If Ms. White can establish her territory of use (along with a zone of natural expansion), she will likely have rights superior to the band in that territory. If Ms. White’s use has been restricted to only one small area, such as Seattle, the band may be granted nationwide use of the mark, subject only to an exception in that area. Even the band’s incontestable registration would not grant it the exclusive right to use the mark where Ms. White has continued to use the mark and has established rights since prior to the band’s registration. It is unclear how such a division and exception could be made for the band who performs and sells music nationwide.

As of now, the only pending questions before both district courts in the parties’ cases relate to venue and the first to file rule. But eventually, the dueling trademark rights will be analyzed and this will be an interesting case for trademark lawyers to continue to follow.

About the author: Hannah Brown is an associate and member of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Intellectual Property Practice Group, specializing in trademark, copyright, and patent litigation. She is a former law clerk to the Hon. Janis Sammartino and Hon. Cynthia Bashant of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California.
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1 As an interesting intellectual property-related side note, this is not the first time the Redskins have been criticized for their name. In 1992, several Native Americans filed a joint petition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the U.S Patent and Trademark office requesting the cancellation of the term “Redskins.” The petition claimed the term is “disparaging” to American Indians. The TTAB judges canceled the federal registration of the mark Redskins “on the grounds that the subject marks may disparage Native Americans and may bring them into contempt or disrepute.” The case underwent several rounds of appeals. Eventually, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the trademark. See Pro-Football, Inc. v. Blackhorse et al., Case No. 15-1874 (4th Cir. 2015). The decision was based on a Supreme Court decision issued in June 2017 in an unrelated case involving a rock band, the Slants. The Supreme Court declared that a section of federal law banning trademarks that may disparage people was a violation of the First Amendment. It was this section of the Lanham Act that the Native Americans relied upon to argue that the Redskins’ trademarks should be cancelled. The Fourth Circuit therefore issued a decision consistent with the Supreme Court ruling that the disparaging trademark ban is unconstitutional.
Although technically a loss for the plaintiffs, the lawsuit alerted the nation to the Native Americans’ contentions and feelings regarding the team’s name. Now, their request has been granted and the “Redskins” are no more.

Are Commercial Parody Dog Toys Subject to the Heightened Rogers Test, and Do They Qualify As Non-Commercial Works under the Trademark Dilution Revision Act? Jack Daniels and Amici Ask the U.S. Supreme Court to Overturn the Ninth Circuit

Author: Benni Amato

The dog toy industry has drawn the ire of many famous brands; one of the latest examples is VIP Products’s “Bad Spaniels Silly Squeaker” dog toy, fashioned to resemble Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Black Label Tennessee Whiskey. The toy replaced “Jack Daniel’s” with “Bad Spaniels,” along with a drawing of a guilty-looking spaniel. Instead of “Old No. 7 Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey,” the toy read, “Old No. 2 on your Tennessee Carpet.” Instead of “40% ALC BY VOL (80 PROOF),” the toy read, “43% POO BY VOL” and “100% SMELLY.”

Jak Daniel’s emerged victorious before the United States District Court, District of Arizona on summary judgment and after a bench trial on its trademark infringement and trademark dilution claims. However, while the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the validity of Jack Daniel’s trade dress, it vacated and remanded the judgment on the infringement claim, and reversed the judgment on the dilution claim.

The Infringement Claim

The Ninth Circuit noted that while trademark and trade dress infringement cases turn on likelihood of confusion, if the otherwise infringing goods involve “artistic expression,” a plaintiff must also show either that the defendant’s use of the mark is either “not artistically relevant to the underlying work,” or “explicitly misleads consumers as to the source of content of the work”—otherwise known as the Rogers test, named after Rogers v. Grimaldi, 875 F.2d 994 (2d Cir. 1989) and adopted by the Ninth Circuit in Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, 296 F.3d 894, 900 (9th Cir. 2002).

Whether a work is expressive depends on whether the work “communicat[es] ideas” or “express[es] points of view.” The work need not be considered high art, nor do the work’s availability commercially vitiate any expressive qualities. The Ninth Circuit concluded that the Bad Spaniels toy was an expressive work that conveyed humor, and it thus vacated judgment and remanded the claim to the district court to consider the Rogers test.

Jack Daniels now seeks certiorari from the United States Supreme Court, arguing that the Rogers test should be limited to the use of trademarks in the titles or contents of expressive or artistic works, not a commercial dog chew toy.

The Dilution Claim

The Ninth Circuit noted that a non-commercial use of a mark is not subject to trademark dilution claims. Then, without any in-depth discussion, the Ninth Circuit concluded that because the Bad Spaniels product was protected by the First Amendment, VIP was entitled to judgment on the dilution claims in its favor.

Jack Daniels also seeks certiorari from the Supreme Court on this issue, arguing that a commercial product’s use of humor should not render the product “noncommercial” under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)(3)(C), and thus barring a dilution by tarnishment claim.

Previously, in the Mattel case, the Ninth Circuit held that as long as a work was not purely commercial (for example, the song “Barbie Girl”), then the First Amendment defense can apply to dilution claims. Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc., 296 F.3d 894, 907 (9th Cir. 2002). However, due to the lack of analysis in the Jack Daniels opinion, it is not clear how the Ninth Circuit found the Bad Spaniels squeaker toy as not purely commercial.

Jack Daniel’s and its amici—including Campbell Soup Company, Campari America, Alcohol Beverage Industry Associations, Constellation Brands, and International Trademark Association—expressed concern in their briefing that a defendant selling a commercial product may escape any liability under the dilution laws by simply making the product humorous.

Chewy Vuitton

One of the more famous dog toy cases is Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A. v. Haute Diggity Dog, LLC, 507 F.3d 252, 263 (4th Cir. 2007), which involved a “Chewy Vuitton” dog toy. In fact, the Ninth Circuit cited to this Fourth Circuit case in supporting its own Jack Daniels opinion. However, in the Louis Vuitton case, while the dog toy’s parodic nature dominated much of the opinion, the Fourth Circuit found no likelihood of confusion in part because the products were different, and there was minimal overlap between advertising and sales channels. The Jack Daniels district court found the opposite, that likelihood of confusion existed, in part because Jack Daniels licensed its intellectual property for certain dog products.

As to the dilution by tarnishment claim in Louis Vuitton, the Fourth Circuit ruled that Louis Vuitton failed to satisfy its burden that the dog toy would harm its reputation. While reaching a similar result, the Ninth Circuit instead cited to the First Amendment and non-commerciality as its reason for reversing judgment on the dilution by tarnishment claim.

In other words, while both the Fourth Circuit and Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of the dog toy producers, the appellate courts relied on different analyses.

Case Status and Opinions

The Supreme Court has yet to grant certiorari to review the case. VIP Products and its amici—Trademark Law professors, including Rebecca Tushnet of Harvard Law School—filed their briefs on December 16, 2020, and Jack Daniels filed its reply brief on December 23, 2020.

While consumers may or may not confuse a famous whiskey brand with a potty-humored dog toy, and the dog toy may or may not tarnish the whiskey brand’s reputation, it appears that the main objections from the Jack Daniels amici and commentators stem from the Ninth Circuit’s reasoning, or lack thereof. The Ninth Circuit’s opinion could lead to an expansion of what constitutes “expressive” and/or “non-commercial” works, unless the Supreme Court decides to take on the issue and rule otherwise.

About the author: Benni Amato is a partner in Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. Her practice focuses on litigation matters involving trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, patents, internet issues, cybersecurity, and contractual disputes, as well as domain name arbitrations and trademark and copyright prosecution and licensing. Ms. Amato’s biography can be found here.

A Generic.com Term is Not Per Se Generic

Author: Julia Whitelock

A generic term combined with a non-source-identifying term is just a generic term, right?  In United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B.V., Case No. 19-46, 2020 U.S. LEXIS 3517, 591 U.S. ___ (June 30, 2020), the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a sweeping rule that the combination of a generic word with “.com” is automatically generic and, therefore, unregistrable per se.

Procedural History

Booking.com, a digital travel company that provides travel-related services under the brand “Booking.com,” filed applications to register the mark “Booking.com.”  A USPTO examining attorney and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) concluded that the term “Booking.com” was generic for the services offered and denied registration.  According to the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (“TMEP”) (Oct. 2018), “[portions of the uniform resource locator (‘URL’), including the beginning, (‘http://www.’) and the top-level Internet domain name (“TLD”) (e.g., “.com,” “.org,” “.edu,”) indicate an address on the World Wide Web, and therefore generally serve no source-indicating function.”  TMEP § 1209.03(m).  Because “.com” “generally indicate[s] the type of entity using a given domain name, and therefore serves no source-indicating function, their addition to an otherwise unregistrable mark typically cannot render it registrable.”  Id.  TTAB found that “booking” was a generic term for “making travel reservations” and “.com” only served to identify a commercial website.  It therefore concluded that “Booking.com” is unregistrable because it is generic or, in the alternative, descriptive and lacking secondary meaning.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit disagreed with the PTO.  Generic terms are the “common name of a product or service itself.”  Sara Lee Corp. v. Kayser-Roth Corp., 81 F.3d 455, 464 (4th Cir. 1996).  The District Court, relying on Booking.com’s new evidence of consumer perception, concluded that the compound term “Booking.com,” as opposed to “Booking,” is not generic.  Instead, consumer perception evidence indicated that “Booking.com” is descriptive and had acquired secondary meaning as to hotel-reservation services.  The USPTO appealed only the District Court’s ruling on genericness.  The Fourth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s determination that “Booking.com” is not generic, finding no error in its assessment of consumer perception and rejecting the USPTO’s contention that combining a generic term with “.com” is “necessarily generic.”  The Fourth Circuit applied the three-step test for genericness: “(1) identify the class of product or service to which use of the mark is relevant; (2) identify the relevant consuming public; and (3) determine whether the primary significance of the mark to the relevant public is as an indication of the nature of the class of the product or services to which the mark relates, which suggests that it is generic, or an indication of the source or brand, which suggests that it is not generic.”  Booking.com B.V. v. United States Patent and Trademark Office, 915 F.3d 171, 180 (4th Cir. 2019) (citing Glover v. Ampak, Inc., 74 F.3d 57, 59 (4th Cir. 1996)).

The Supreme Court’s Ruling Reaffirms the Primary Significance Test for Analyzing Genericness

The Supreme Court affirmed the Fourth Circuit, concluding that “Booking.com” is not generic.  The Court held, “[w]hether any given ‘generic.com’ term is generic…depends on whether consumers in fact perceive that term as the name of a class or, instead, as a term capable of distinguishing among members of the class.”  2020 U.S. LEXIS 3517, *16.  The Supreme Court’s ruling rejected the USPTO’s assertion of a blanket rule that deemed all “generic.com” terms as generic.

The Booking.com Court’s holding does not materially change the test for genericness as announced in Kellogg Co. v. Nat’l Biscuit Co., 305 U.S. 111, 118, 83 L. Ed. 73, 59 S. Ct. 109 (1938).  In Kellogg, the Supreme Court stated that the owner of the mark “must show that the primary significance of the term in the minds of the consuming public is not the product but the producer.”  Id.  In Booking.com, the Supreme Court held that the owner of the mark must show that “consumers in fact perceive that term…as a term capable of distinguishing among members of the class.”  Accordingly, the Booking.com opinion reinforces the primary significance test in determining whether a mark is generic or descriptive in the context of a generic.com term.  To do so, the Court necessarily had to reject the USPTO’s position that a generic term combined with a generic corporate designation (in this case “.com”) is basically per se an unregistrable generic term.    

In Goodyear’s India Rubber Glove Mfg. Co. v. Goodyear Rubber Co., the Court held that “Goodyear Rubber Company” was not “capable of exclusive appropriation.”  128 U.S. 598, 602, 32 L. Ed. 535, 9 S. Ct. 166 (1889).  “Goodyear Rubber” was a class of goods and the combination of a generic term with “Company” “only indicates that parties have formed an association or partnership to deal in such goods.”  Id.  In Booking.com, however, unlike a generic term combined with “company,” a generic term combined with “.com” refers to a specific entity due to the exclusivity of domain name ownership.  2020 U.S. LEXIS 3517, *14.  Therefore, “consumers could understand a given ‘generic.com’ term to describe the corresponding website or to identify the website’s proprietor.”  Id. *15.  The Booking.com Court clarified Goodyear’s principles, in conjunction with the subsequent enactment of the Lanham Act, as “A compound of generic elements is generic if the combination yields no additional meaning to consumers capable of distinguishing the goods or services.”  Id. *15-16.  However, “[a] ‘generic.com’ term might also convey to consumers a source-identifying characteristic: an association with a particular website.”  Booking.com, 2020 U.S. LEXIS 3517, *14.  The point is that a court must look at consumer perception to determine whether the combined “generic.com” term identifies a class of goods or a particular producer. 

Impact

The decision may increase the cost of trademark prosecution.  The ruling seemingly opens the gates for an onslaught of generic.com applications.  However, applicants will need to show consumer perception that the generic.com term identifies a brand, not a class of goods.  The Booking.com Court provided a non-exhaustive list of support for consumer perception of a term’s meaning, to include: “consumer surveys, but also dictionaries, usage by consumers and competitors, and any other source of evidence bearing on how consumers perceive a term’s meaning.”  2020 U.S. LEXIS 3517, *16 n.6.  Compiling such evidence may be costly to trademark applicants seeking to register facially generic terms.

The decision may create a path for federal registration for other combination generic terms and non-source-identifying terms.  The Booking.com Court’s holding specifically identifies the factual circumstances for which to apply its rule – when analyzing whether a “generic.com” term is generic.  However, the analysis could likely be extended to other generic terms that lack a source-identifying term (such as other TLDs like “.org” or “.net”, or # or HASHTAG).

While a generic.com mark may be registrable (assuming proof of the mark’s primary significance as source to consumers), Booking.com does not alter the tenets of trademark law – likelihood of confusion and fair use.  “[E]ven where some consumer confusion exists, the doctrine known as classic fair use, [4 McCarthy] § 11:45, protects from liability anyone who uses a descriptive term, ‘fairly and in good faith’ and ‘otherwise than as a mark,’ merely to describe her own goods.”  2020 U.S. LEXIS 3517, *18 (citing 15 U.S.C. §1115(b)(4); KP Permanent Make-Up, Inc. v. Lasting Impression I, Inc., 543 U.S. 111, 122-23, 125 S. Ct. 542, 160 L. Ed. 2d 440 (2004)).   

However, the decision may ultimately increase the instance of trademark bullying.  Even though a generic.com mark is registrable, as the Court explains and Booking.com concedes, the mark is a weak descriptive mark with a more difficult path to showing likelihood of confusion.  First, Booking.com concedes that “Booking.com” is a weak mark and as a descriptive mark, it is “harder…to show a likelihood of confusion.”  2020 U.S. LEXIS 3517, *18 (quoting Tr. of Oral Arg. 42-43, 66).  Second, Booking.com accepts that close variations of “Booking.com” are unlikely to infringe.  Id.  And finally, the federal trademark registration of “Booking.com” “would not prevent competitors from using the word ‘booking’ to describe their own services.”  Id.  However, it is conceivable that a generic.com trademark owner could and would use its federal registration to scare users of the generic term into ceasing use for fear of a costly, protracted legal battle.

About the author: Julia Whitelock is a partner in Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Intellectual Property and Commercial Litigation Practice Groups.  Her practice focuses on litigating matters involving trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, commercial disputes, and consumer claims, and advertising & e-commerce law.

Trademark Battle Heats Up Over Fizzy Way To Cool Down

Author: Tessa Carberry

In the past few years, cooling off with a hard seltzer on a hot summer day has become increasingly popular. While the two biggest players in the market, White Claw and Truly, enjoy the lion’s share of the market, many other companies are looking to capitalize in the hard seltzer market. And, as the Summer of 2020 begins to heat up, so does the trademark battle between two of these companies: Future Proof Brands, LLC (“Future Proof”) and Molson Coors.1

The Products and the Marks

On September 1, 2019, Future Proof launched “Brizzy,” a seltzer cocktail offering consumers a refreshing alcoholic beverage with only 100 calories, 2 carbs, 1 gram of sugar and 5% alcohol by volume. Brizzy flavors include Watermelon Mule, Strawberry Rose, and Mixed Berry Mojito. Future Proof applied to register the Brizzy mark with the USPTO in November 2018. Originating in Austin, Texas, the products can now be found in over 1,000 retail locations in four states with plans to expand into more states this year.

Molson Coors’s hard seltzer, “Vizzy,” is advertised as “the only hard seltzer with antioxidant Vitamin C.”2 It similarly offers 100 calories, 2 carbs, 1 gram of sugar and 5% alcohol by volume. In September 2019, Molson Coors filed an application to register the Vizzy trademark. Vizzy flavors include “hint of” pineapple mango, black cherry lime, blueberry pomegranate, and strawberry kiwi.

Future Proof Attempts to Protect Brizzy

In February 2020, after filing an action for trademark infringement, Future Proof filed a motion seeking a preliminary injunction prohibiting Molson Coors from selling and marketing Vizzy on the grounds that Vizzy was confusingly similar to Brizzy.3 Future Proof sought to enjoin Molson Coors from: (1) advertising or selling alcoholic beverages with Vizzy or any other confusingly similar mark to Brizzy; and (2) using, registering, or applying to register the Vizzy mark or any variation thereof.

However, the court refused to grant the preliminary injunction finding Future Proof did not meet its burden on the first requirement of the Rule 65 standard—namely, that it was likely to succeed on the trademark infringement claim. The court held that Future Proof failed to show it would succeed on the merits of the claim because there was not a likelihood of confusion between the marks – one of the two elements of infringement. The court examined the eight factors for confusion, discussed below, before concluding that, taken as a whole, there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits.

The strength of the mark allegedly infringed

While Future Proof asserted that Brizzy was a strong mark, the court disagreed for two reasons. First, relying on precedent, the court reasoned that because the two marks share in the common root word “fizzy,” “which is certainly an adjective that a customer looking for a flavored, alcoholic seltzer product would desire…Plaintiff cannot realistically hope that by obtaining a mark based on and characterized dominantly by one word…it can prevent competitors from doing the same.” Second, the court points out there is a “plethora of competing products humorously close to [Future Proof’s] mark” such as Malibu’s Fizzy, Izzie Beverages, and Bizzy Cold Brew, among others. For these reasons, the court weighed this factor strongly in favor of denying the injunction.

The similarity between the two marks

Here, the court considered the similarity of the two marks by looking at their appearance, sound, and meaning. The court acknowledged that the letter “B” and “V” are easily confused4, but agreed with Molson Coors that the “logos, font, coloring, cans and packing could not be more different.” Since this factor is considered through the lens of how the customer perceives the marks, the court did not believe there was a high likelihood a customer would think the marks are similar, favoring denial of the injunction.

The similarity of the products or services, identity of the retail outlets and purchaser, and the advertising media used

The court considered these elements together and, with relatively minimal discussion, concluded they weigh in favor of granting the injunction.

The defendant’s intent

The court focused its inquiry on whether Molson Coors intended to derive benefits from Future Proof’s reputation. Future Proof presented no evidenced that Molson Coors intended to derive such a benefit and the court noted Molson came up with Vizzy months before Brizzy hit the market. This factor weighed in favor of denying the injunction.

The evidence of actual consumer confusion

Future Proof offered one instance of actual confusion wherein a wholesaler asked a Future Proof employee to talk about “Vizzy” when referring to the Future Proof product. However, the court drew the distinction that this was not consumer confusion, but wholesaler confusion and added this was a “fleeting mix-up of names.” Again, the court weighed this factor in favor of denying the injunction.

The degree of care exercised by potential purchasers

The court did not spend much time on this factor, stating “given the low cost of the products at issue, this factor provides little or no relevance to the court’s determination.”

Future Proof Refuses to let its Argument Fall Flat

On April 20, 2020, Future Proof filed a notice of interlocutory appeal of the court’s denial of the preliminary injunction motion. On June 10, 2020, Future Proof, refusing to let its argument fall flat, filed its 54-page brief opening brief on appeal, raising the overarching question of whether the “trial court erred in applying the factors…for evaluating a likelihood of confusion.”5 Future Proof asserted that Molson Coor’s use of Vizzy is “textbook trademark infringement” and focused its argument on four of the eight confusion factors: strength of the mark; similarity of marks; actual confusion between marks; and consumers’ degree of care and Molson Coor’s intent.

Strength of the Mark

Future Proof argues the trial court erred in finding Brizzy is a “weak” mark because it misapplied precedent by: (1) ignoring the presumption of distinctiveness enjoyed by a trademark holder and; (2) ignoring the tests adopted by the 5th Circuit to assess descriptiveness. Future Proof asserts that “a trademark is presumed to be inherently distinctive where, as here, the PTO registered the mark without requiring evidence of secondary meaning,”6 while also acknowledging this is a rebuttable presumption. Future Proof claims the only evidence Molson Coors has offered is an empty assertion that Brizzy comes from the word fizzy. Future Proof also challenges the court’s descriptiveness analysis, arguing that the court did not consider any of the four applicable tests under 5th Circuit precedent, under which Future Proof asserts its mark is not descriptive.

Mark Similarity

Similarly, Future Proof asserts the trial court erred in two distinct ways by: (1) focusing on certain visual differences in product packaging instead of the marks; and (2) ignoring the aural similarities between the marks. Future Proof relies on 5th Circuit authority stating the words should be the focus of the analysis, not the product packaging. Further, Future Proof states that the rhyming and audible difficulty in distinguishing between the “V” and “BR” consonants when spoken establishes similarity. Future Proof raises an interesting point in that sound in this case is particularly important as alcoholic beverages are likely to be ordered orally at a restaurant or bar.

Actual Confusion

Future Proof relies on authority suggesting that actual confusion is the best evidence of a likelihood of confusion and that “testimony of a single known incident of actual confusion by a consumer has been found to be sufficient evidence to support the district court’s finding of actual confusion.”7 Future Proof refuted the trial court’s distinction between a wholesaler and a consumer, citing 5th Circuit authority to support the proposition that a retailer or distributor’s confusion is consumer confusion.

Degree of Care and Intent

Future Proof argues that the trial court failed to give due weight to these two factors. Concerning the degree of care consumers use in selecting the products, Future Proof asserted that in the hard seltzer market, with a relatively low price point, consumers are making quick decisions among a “crowded array” of products in fast-paced environments, tilting this factor in its favor. Finally, Future Proof asserted that Molson Coors did have the intent to infringe based on a Molson Coors executive’s awareness of Brizzy before launching its media blitz for Vizzy.

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While we await a ruling from the 5th Circuit to determine whether there is a likelihood of confusion between Brizzy and Vizzy, let the arguments of each side percolate and bubble as you come to your own conclusion.

About the author: Tessa Carberry is a litigation associate in the Denver office of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani and a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. With a background in biology and mathematics, and as a former emergency medical technician, Ms. Carberry’s interests include the overlap between healthcare and IP law.
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1 Molson Coors refers collectively to both named defendants in the lawsuit: Molson Coors Beverage Company F/K/A Molson Coors Brewing Company and MillerCoors, LLC.
2 https://www.vizzyhardseltzer.com/#about-us
3 Future Proof Brands, LLC v. Molson Coors Beverage Company, et al., No. 1:20-cv-00144-JRN (W.D. Tex. Feb. 6, 2020).
4 Examining Krim-Ko Corp. (Krim-Ko Div., Nat. Sugar Ref. Co.) v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of New York, 390 F.2d 728, 731-32 (C.C.P.A. 1968)
5 Future Proof Brands, LLC v. Molson Coors Beverage Company, et al., 5th Cir. Court of Appeals Case No. 20-50323, Appellant’s Opening Brief.
6 Alliance for Good Gov’t v. Coalition for Better Gov’t, 901 F.3d 498, 507- 508, 510 (5th Cir. 2018).
7 Streamline Prod. Sys. v. Streamline Mfg., 851 F.3d 440, 457 (5th Cir. 2017)

SCOTUS: Willfulness Not Required for Trademark Infringement Plaintiff to Recover Defendant’s Profits

Author: Patrick Mulkern

On April 23, 2020, the Supreme Court resolved a long-standing circuit split regarding whether a trademark infringement plaintiff must show willfulness as a prerequisite to recovery of the defendant’s profits. In Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc., Case No. 18-1233 (Apr. 23, 2020),1 a near-unanimous Court2 lowered the bar for half the country, announcing: no, a trademark holder need not show willfulness before it can recover the accused infringer’s profits.

Summary of Underlying Dispute

Petitioner Romag Fasteners, Inc. (“Romag”) sells magnetic snap fasteners for use with leather goods, while Respondent Fossil, Inc. (“Fossil”) sells fashion accessories. The parties entered an agreement under which Fossil would use Romag’s fasteners in Fossil’s handbags. Eventually, Romag learned that Fossil’s manufacturer was using counterfeit fasteners instead of authentic Romag products.

At trial, the jury agreed with Romag, finding that Fossil had infringed and acted “in callous disregard” of Romag’s rights—but ultimately rejected the contention that Fossil had acted “willfully” as that term had been defined by the judge. Therefore, pursuant to then-applicable Second Circuit precedent under which a trademark plaintiff must first prove the infringement was willful, Romag could not recover Fossil’s profits. A well-defined split among the circuit courts on this issue led to the Supreme Court’s grant of certiorari.

Court’s Decision

The Court’s decision can be broken down into three sections: a statutory interpretation portion, a historical analysis portion, and a policy argument portion.

The statutory interpretation segment began with the language of the Lanham Act, noting the only limitation on recovery under Section 1117(a) (including “defendant’s profits”) was “subject to the principles of equity.” The Court explained why this limitation was significant, as the Lanham Act does explicitly require willfulness as a precondition for profits under Section 1125(c) (governing dilution)—but Romag had proceeded under Section 1125(a) (relating to false or misleading use of trademarks). The Court identified a slew of instances in which the Lanham Act clearly required specific mental states,3 and concluded that “this court [does not] usually read into statutes words that aren’t there. It’s a temptation we are doubly careful to avoid when Congress has (as here) included the term in question elsewhere in the very same statutory provision.”

The Court then reviewed Fossil’s argument that “principles of equity” provided a historical basis for requiring willfulness—an argument that the Court characterized as a “curious suggestion.” Citing first to Black’s Law Dictionary, then treatises from the 1800s, as well as several of the Supreme Court’s own decisions, the Court held “principles of equity” is a “trans-substantive” concept and does not relate or call to mind any trademark-specific requirements. Even if the Court were to assume the Lanham Act sought to incorporate common law principles, it was “far from clear whether trademark law historically required a showing of willfulness before allowing a profits remedy.” On this point, the Court acknowledged competing authority—with Fossil’s cases seeming requiring willfulness, and the fact that “Romag cites other cases that expressly rejected any such rule”—and then reiterated “the ordinary, trans-substantive principle that a defendant’s mental state is relevant to assigning an appropriate remedy.”

Finally, the Court’s decision concluded by identifying the parties’ competing policy arguments, then punted, stating, “the place for reconciling competing and incommensurable policy goals like these is before policymakers” (i.e., Congress).

Concurring Opinions

Justices Alito, Breyer, and Kagan wrote one of two concurrences, in which they simply reiterated the point that “willfulness is a highly important consideration in awarding profits under § 1117(a), but not an absolute precondition.” Justice Sotomayor wrote the other concurrence, in which she rejected the majority’s suggestion that profits would (or should) ever be awarded for innocent infringement, but agreed in the ultimately judgment. In so finding, she wrote to explicitly disagree with any interpretation of the Lanham Act in which profits could be awarded “for innocent or good-faith trademark infringement[.]”

Impact

This decision lowers the bar for nearly half the country, as the First, Second, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and D.C. Circuits had previously used willfulness as a threshold requirement in trademark infringement claims seeking defendants’ profits. Now, it is likely that defendant’s profits analysis will track that which has been used in the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eleventh Circuits, where willfulness was just one of several factors in a flexible analysis. See, e.g., Quick Techs., Inc. v. Sage Grp. PLC, 313 F.3d 338, 349 (5th Cir. 2002) (stating that “willful infringement” is “an important factor”).

Ultimately, the following passage from the Court’s opinion (together with the language found in both concurring opinions) will likely serve as support for those circuit courts that wish to make willfulness a key factor in their analysis going forward:

[I]t is a principle long reflected in equity practice where district courts have often considered a defendant’s mental state, among other factors, when exercising their discretion in choosing a fitting remedy. . . . Given these traditional principles, we do not doubt that a trademark defendant’s mental state is a highly important consideration in determining whether an award of profits is appropriate. But acknowledging that much is a far cry from insisting on the inflexible precondition to recovery Fossil advances.

About the author: Patrick J. Mulkern is an associate in Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. His practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and transactional matters, with a particular emphasis on patent, trademark, and trade secret litigation. Mr. Mulkern is a registered patent attorney and his biography can be found here.
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1 https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18-1233_5he6.pdf.
2 Justice Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the court, with which all but one justice joined. Justice Sotomayor concurred in the judgment only.
3 See, e.g., § 1117(b) (requiring treble damages and attorney’s fees when certain conduct is intentional); § 1117(c) (increasing cap on statutory damages for certain willful violations); § 1118 (permitting courts to destroy infringing items for any violation of section 1125(a) or any willful violation of section 1125(c)); § 1114 (providing certain innocent infringers subject only to injunction); § 1125(d)(1)(A)(i) (prohibiting certain conduct only if undertaken with “bad faith intent”).

Lions, Tigers, and Trademarks: IP Lessons from “Tiger King”

Author: Alison Pringle

Netflix’s recent docu-series “Tiger King” has quarantined Americans captivated—a reported 34 million viewers binged the series within the first ten days of its release alone. Amongst the series’ tiger-related exploits lies a bitter trademark lawsuit brought against the series’ mullet-sporting anti-hero Joseph Maldonado-Passage (known to viewers as “Joe Exotic”).

Maldonado-Passage created the Oklahoma-based “GW Exotic Animal Memorial Park” and filled it with tigers, lions, and other exotic animals. Throughout the 2000s, Maldonado-Passage became infamous in animal rights circles for breeding tiger cubs and exhibiting his animals at malls across the country.

The “Tiger King” series chronicles the long-standing feud between Maldonado-Passage and Carole Baskin. Baskin is the founder of “Big Cat Rescue,” a non-profit sanctuary for big cats. Maldonado-Passage was eventually put on trial after an unsuccessful plot to murder Baskin went awry. While Maldonado-Passage is currently serving a twenty-two year prison sentence for attempted murder-for-hire and violations of the Endangered Species Act, it was a trademark judgment that served as the catalyst for Exotic’s downfall.

Trademark Litigation

In 2005, the Big Cat Rescue Corp. registered a BIG CAT RESCUE logo for charitable fund raising services, animal rescue services, and entertainment services such as animal exhibition1:

After trying to shut down Maldonado-Passage for years, it was Baskin’s trademark rights that allowed her to finally pounce and take legal action against him. In 2011, Big Cat Rescue filed a lawsuit in the Middle District of Florida against Maldonado-Passage and GW Exotic after the latter adopted the trade name “BIG CAT RESCUE ENTERTAINMENT.” Big Cat Rescue alleged Maldonado-Passage and GW Exotic sought to disparage Big Cat Rescue through the “BIG CAT RESCUE ENTERTAINMENT” mark by causing the public to believe Big Cat Rescue was engaged in the exploitation of exotic animals.

For a trademark infringement claim, a plaintiff must show that: (1) it has developed a protectable trademark right in a trademark; (2) the defendant uses a confusingly similar mark in such a way that creates a likelihood of confusion, mistake and/or deception with the public; and (3) the plaintiff incurred damages as a result of the defendant’s infringing actions.

Big Cat Rescue’s trademark registration evidenced its rights in the “BIG CAT RESCUE” mark. Big Cat Rescue also did not have a large hurdle to jump in demonstrating Maldonado-Passage’s “BIG CAT RESCUE ENTERTAINMENT” mark was confusingly similar to the “BIG CAT RESCUE” mark. Big Cat Rescue further presented three key facts demonstrating Maldonado-Passage willfully infringed its mark.

First, Maldonado-Passage created the below ad featuring the “BIG CAT RESCUE ENTERTAINMENT” mark over a photo of a snow-leopard’s eyes, which Big Cat Rescue alleged was “virtually identical” to a photograph Big Cat Rescue used as the banner for its website at the time. The ad for the Oklahoma-based zoo displayed a Florida telephone number and the words “Florida Office,” which Big Cat Rescue argued would confuse the public into believing “Big Cat Rescue Entertainment” was affiliated with the Florida-based Big Cat Rescue.

Second, Big Cat Rescue demonstrated Maldonado-Passage used the BIG CAT RESCUE ENTERTAINMENT mark to try to divert Google traffic to his sites rather than those of Big Cat Rescue. A Facebook post created by a user named “Joe Exotic” stated, “If you must know, I registered Big Cat Rescue Entertainment and leased the name out so you could ruin BCR on Google all by yourself, and it is working. LOL.” Another “Joe Exotic” post referred to Big Cat Rescue Entertainment as “My new company LOL.” Maldonado-Passage attributed both posts to hackers.

Finally, Big Cat Rescue alleged Maldonado-Passage had also sought to file the trade name “The Caroll Baskin Entertainment Group.”

In defense of the infringement claim, Maldonado-Passage argued in his pre-trial statement that his actions were a necessary response to BCR’s campaign of disseminating misinformation about him in an effort to shut him down:

Defendants had no alternative but to respond, in part, by reflecting the egregious conduct of BCR and the Baskins back upon BCR through a counter-campaign designed to do nothing more than cause BCR to suffer from its own misconduct.

This lawsuit, and BCR’s abuse of copyright laws, is merely one more tool for the Baskins and BCR in their all-out assault on Defendants.

This argument did not absolve Maldonado-Passage from liability for the trademark claims brought against him. The parties ultimately stipulated to entry of a consent judgment against Defendants prior to trial.

References to Baskin’s Late Husband Excluded from Trademark Trial

Of note for fans of the series and legal procedure buffs, Big Cat Rescue filed a motion in limine to exclude any reference at trial to Baskin’s late husband, Jack Donald Lewis. Lewis’s 1997 disappearance remains a significant source of controversy and was featured heavily in the docu-series. Throughout his feud with Baskin, Maldonado-Passage frequently spouted his belief that Baskin killed Lewis and fed him to one of her tigers. Maldonado-Passage even went so far as to reference Lewis’s disappearance in his pretrial statement and press releases related to the lawsuit. As Big Cat Rescue argued, and the Court affirmed in granting the motion (unsurprisingly), mention of Lewis’s disappearance would likely prejudice a jury against Big Cat Rescue and had no relevance to the trademark infringement claims at issue.

Trademark Judgment

 The docu-series demonstrates the power and value of a trademark as well as the potentially high stakes of an infringement suit. The trademark judgment aided in eventually bringing down the “Tiger King.” Big Cat Rescue was able to recover all of Maldonado-Passage and GW Exotic’s profits from their mall road shows during the time period Defendants adopted the “BIG CAT RESCUE ENTERTAINMENT” mark. Total gross receipts from Defendants’ road shows between 2010 and 2011 equaled $653,000.00. Big Cat Rescue was also entitled to $300,000 for its attorneys’ fees and costs related to the trademark lawsuit, amounting to a total judgment of $953,000.

As shown in the series, the judgment financially ruined Maldonado-Passage and GW Exotic. Big Cat Rescue’s aggressive judgment enforcement actions seem to have sent Maldonado-Passage into a tailspin that eventually led to him hiring a hitman to take out Baskin.

Tiger King offers much in the way of Jerry Springer-esque entertainment and nothing when it comes to moral guidance. Viewers can take away one lesson, though: don’t use your competitor’s trademark as a weapon and brag about it on the internet.

Alison Pringle is an associate in Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. Her practice focuses on intellectual property and commercial litigation, with an emphasis on trademark, copyright, contract, technology, and privacy disputes. She also counsels clients on transactional intellectual property issues. Ms. Pringle’s biography can be found here.
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1 USPTO Serial No. 76568568. In 2014, the Big Cat Rescue Corp. also registered the word mark BIG CAT RESCUE under USPTO Serial No. 85850084.