AIG Finds Trademark Overlap Doesn’t Always Trigger Delay Defense

Insurer AIG figured a ban on unreasonably delayed lawsuits easily shielded it from trademark claims brought by a smaller insurer that has shared a name with the conglomerate since 1967. A federal appeals court ruled it’s not so simple.

American International Group Inc. convinced a Missouri federal court that the doctrine of “laches” barred family-owned AIG Agency Inc. from suing it over trademark infringement. But the lower court improperly applied the doctrine and critical questions remained unanswered in the case, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said May 13 in reversing AIG’s win.

The case cuts to ...