SCOTUS Ruling on Foreign Reach of Lanham Act ‘Leaves More Questions’

Director Monica Riva Talley was quoted in the article “SCOTUS Ruling on Foreign Reach of Lanham Act ‘Leaves More Questions,'” published by World IP Review. She provided commentary on the Supreme Court’s decision in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc. From the article:

“Monica Riva Talley, head of the trademark and brand protection practice at Sterne Kessler, adds that the court’s decision was ‘not unexpected.’

‘The court confirmed that ‘use in commerce’ of a trademark provides the dividing line between whether a claimed infringement is foreign or domestic,’ she says.

‘This ruling is consistent with the application of trademark law around the globe, in which each country is empowered to grant trademark rights and police infringement within its borders.

‘As a practical matter, what this means for US trademark owners is that they will need to use and register their marks outside of the US in order to enforce those rights in other countries.'”