Bank of America Win in Trademark Suit Backed by Appeals Court

Bank of America Corp. rightfully defeated a lawsuit over its “ERICA” trademark because an app-maker failed to show his claimed “E.R.I.C.A.” mark was used in commerce, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

Erik Underwood’s use of E.R.I.C.A. was unlikely to identify or distinguish services offered on his site www.my24erica.com, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit said in its second opinion on the case. He used the term to describe the app that was still being developed for search engine services rather than to identify who provided the search engine, the court said.

The opinion by Judge ...