11th Circuit Dissolves Injunction Against Axiom, Remands Case for Irreparable Harm Determination

Holding:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dissolved a district court’s preliminary injunction issued in an infringement case involving the “Accu-Spina” and “IDD Therapy” trademarks. The district court earlier granted injunctive relief in favor of plaintiff-appellee North American Medical Corporation (“NAM”) in order to prohibit defendant-appellant Axiom Worldwide, Inc. (“Axiom”) from including these trademarks within meta tags on its website in influencing internet search engines. The district court was correct in finding that Axiom’s use was a use in commerce and likely to cause confusion. However, it erred in presuming that plaintiffs-appellees would suffer irreparable harm if no preliminary injunction was issued. In so ruling, the district court abused its discretion by relying solely on an erroneous presumption in making such a finding. Hence, the Eleventh Circuit remanded the case for further proceedings on the issue of irreparable harm.

Detailed Summary:

Defendants-appellants Axiom James Gibson, Jr., and Nicholas Exarhos filed this appeal to seek the dissolution of the district court’s preliminary injunction in favor of plaintiffs-appellees NAM and Adagen Medical International, Inc. (“Adagen”). The district court prohibited defendants-appellants from engaging in certain alleged acts of trademark infringement and false advertising.

At the time of the filing of the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, NAM was engaged in the design and manufacture of physiotherapeutic spinal devices, commonly known as traction devices, used for example, to treat lower back pain. Adagen was the authorized distributor of NAM’s…

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