Services Are Used In Commerce When They Are Rendered, Not Just When They Are Advertised
Note: This blog post is part of a series that reviews and discusses a number of significant trademark-related decisions handed down in 2015, including two from the U.S. Supreme Court and several from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and other Circuit Courts. Going forward, these rulings will impact how parties protect their trademark assets, including in particular the strategies that parties will need to employ to maximize their likelihood of success in litigation. To follow the entire blog series, click here. For more information, contact Kevin O'Shea.
The Federal Circuit recently aligned itself with other Circuits in holding that in the context of a service mark, "use in commerce" requires that the associated service actually be rendered, not just advertised. Couture v. Playdom, Inc., 778 F.3d 1379 (Fed. Cir. 2015). In Couture, an individual registered the service mark "Playdom" based on an application claiming use of the service mark, as opposed to...
