Trademark Law | Expert Legal Commentary

July 9, 2009

Internet Specialties v. Milon-DiGiorgio: Raising the Standard for a Laches Defense in Trademark Cases

Internet Specialties West v. Milon-DiGiorgio Enterprises, Inc.

By Olivier A. Taillieu and Laura D. Castner of Zuber & Taillieu

In Internet Specialties West v. Milon-DiGiorgio Enterprises, Inc., 559 F.3d 985 (9thCir. 2009), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the district court's grant of an injunction prohibiting the use of a registered domain name and mark that was determined to be confusingly similar to a pre-registered domain name of a competitor. The primary and most notable part of the opinion appears to raise the standard for evidence supporting a successful laches defense in a trademark infringement case. The Court held that where efforts to promote the infringing mark do not create specific brand awareness or public association between the mark and its owner, the infringer cannot claim that it has been prejudiced and therefore cannot support a laches defense.

About the Authors

Olivier A. Taillieu is a Partner of Zuber & Taillieu, focusing on intellectual property litigation and arbitration.

Laura D. Castner is a Counsel of Zuber & Taillieu, focusing on intellectual property litigation and arbitration.

Image Credit: ©iStockphoto.com/melhi

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Olivier A. Taillieu
Laura D. Castner

Companies Mentioned

Ace-Web Internet

Internet Specialties West, Inc.

ISPWest

Milon-DiGiorgio Enterprises, Inc.

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Tiffany (NJ) Inc.

Tiffany & Co.

eBay, Inc.

Volkswagen of America, Inc.

Shokan Coachworks, Inc.

Audi AG

University of Southern California

University of Oklahoma

Smack Apparel Company

Ohio State University

Louisiana State University

Collegiate Licensing Company

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

NTU Electronics, Inc.

Midway Services, Inc.

Internet Specialties West, Inc.

MDCO, Inc.

Custom Manufacturing and Engineering, Inc.

Automated Engineering Corp.

Woofies, LLC d.b.a. Woofie’s Pet Boutique

Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A.

International Trademark Association

Haute Diggity Dog, LLC

JA Apparel Corp.

Houndstooth Corp.

Harringbone Creative Services, Inc.

Mars, Inc.

Chute Gerdeman, Inc.

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.

Rockstar Games, Inc. d.b.a. Play Pen

Schussler Creative, Inc.

Maumee Bay Landscape Contractors, LLC

Able Time, Inc.

Axiom Worldwide, Inc.

Manheim Auctions, Inc.

North American Medical Corp.

Auction Management Solutions, Inc.

Adagen Medical International, Inc.

Pfizer Inc.

Utah Lighthouse Ministry

JetAngel.com

Discovery Computing, Inc.

ESS Entertainment 2000, Inc. e.s.a. Rockstar Games, Inc.

Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research

City of Chicago

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Graffiti Blasters

General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The Associated Press

Additional Resources

Trademark Law