Litigation

Ninth Circuit nixes 'eVisa' trademark

By Lori Bauman

"She sells sea shells by the sea shore.  That's swell, but how about Shell espresso, Tide motor oil, Apple bicycles and Playboy computers?  We consider the application of anti-dilution law to trademarks that are also common English words."

With this riff on a popular tongue-twister, Judge Alex Kozinski set the stage for the Ninth Circuit's latest opinion on trademark dilution.  Last week in Visa International Service Assoc. v. JSL Corporation, Judge Kozinski, writing for the court, ruled that eVisa, the trademark for an internet English-language tutoring service, is likely to dilute the trademark of Visa, the world's largest credit card network.  

While acknowledging that the word visa already has a common dictionary usage, the court stated "the prevalence of such non-trademark use does not undermine Visa as a trademark. . . .  [T]he introduction of the eVisa mark to the marketplace means that there are now two products, and not just one, competing for association with that word.  This is the quintessential harm addressed by anti-dilution law."  And on that basis, the court affirmed summary judgment for Visa and enjoined use of the eVisa mark.

Full post as published by Northwest Business Litigation Blog on July 08, 2010 (boomark / email).