When it comes to applying an eight-factor test, that is, as noted by the Ninth Circuit in Jada Toys v. Mattel, case no. 05-55627 (Filed Aug. 2, 2007, amended Feb. 21, 2008). Its a trademark case. In granting summary judgment to Jada on Mattel’s trademark infringement claim, the district court found as a matter of law that there was no likelihood of confusion between the marks (HOT RIGZ and HOT WHEELS), citing the dissimilarity of the marks as the only basis for the finding. The Ninth reverses because the district court failed to evaluate the facts under the venerable 8-factor Sleekcraft test for likelihood of confusion. Using the dissimilarity of…
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The Evidence Prof Blog Arrives
The Evidence Prof Blog is a new blog in the Law Professor Blogs Network. I only discovered them last Friday, though the blog has been up since October 2. They recently posted regarding Rhoades v. Avon Products, Inc., case no. 05-56047 (9th Cir. Oct. 15, 2007), which applied Federal Rule of Evidence 408 in a trademark declaratory relief action. Issue: Whether a letter from counsel proposing settlement of a trademark dispute (and containing threats of litigation absent settlement) can be admitted to establish that a plaintiff seeking a declaratory judgment of non-infringement of the sender’s trademark has the requisite “real and reasonable apprehension that it would be subject to liability”…