After Converse filed suit against multiple shoe retailers and shoe companies for use of its trademarked Chuck Taylor shoe design, the International Trade Commission (ITC) has invalidated the trademark. The ITC noted that evidence of similar looking shoes designed by competitors over the past eighty years weighs strongly against a finding of secondary meaning, which is necessary to successfully enforce the trademark. In other trademark news, the Ninth Circuit revived a trademark case against Jim Beam for trademark infringement for the Pucker logo. The plaintiff, the maker of Johnny Love Vodka uses lips in its logo as well. The District Court initially dismissed the Case on summary judgment, but the Ninth Circuit held that the District Court used the wrong standard to decide summary judgment because burden was placed on the plaintiff to prove the merits of the claims. The Ninth Circuit also noted that a genuine issue of material fact remained regarding likelihood of confusion, sending the case back to the District Court for trial.
