GA Court Dismisses Auction Management's Trademark Suit over its Online RingMan Service Mark

Holding:

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia dismissed a trademark infringement suit over a wholesale auction company's OnLine RingMan service mark. In this case, plaintiff Auction Management Solutions, Inc. (“AMS”) sued defendant Manheim Auctions, Inc. (“Manheim”), claiming that Manheim improperly used both a confusingly similar variant of AMS’ marks OnLine RingMan, and RingMan in various forms - including GM OnLine RingMan, RingMan, and RingMan Simulcast - to identify Manheim’s online auction system. After reviewing the entire record, the district court concluded that AMS failed to show evidence of a likelihood of confusion. Specifically, AMS did not present studies or surveys assessing confusion, nor did it alleged that there were any customers or prospective customers who experienced any potential confusion. Because AMS disclaimed exclusive rights to the individual term “ringman," the district court concluded that plaintiff’s claim of infringement with regard to Manheim's use of the term “ringman” ultimately should fail. In sum, based on the absence of any evidence of wrongful conduct or likelihood of confusion, the district court granted Manheim’s motion for summary judgment.

Detailed Summary:

Defendant Manheim is a wholesale auction company, which re-markets vehicles for other individuals and entities (collectively, “consignors”) that wish to sell vehicles that they own. Manheim sells consignors’ vehicles to licensed franchise and independent auto dealers (collectively, “dealers”). From 2000 to 2003, Manheim operated more than eighty auction houses in the United States. Opinion, pp. 1-2.

On the other hand, plaintiff Auction is the vendor of a product called OnLine Ringman. OnLine Ringman is software that allows remote bidders to participate in a live auction taking place at an auction house. The software broadcasts audio, video, and bidding-related information over the…

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