Case: Trademarks/Likelihood of Confusion (10th Cir.)

The Tenth Circuit reverses the grant of summary judgment to vape shop Utah Vap or Smoke LLC in this trademark infringement action brought by mixed martial arts clothing company Affliction Holdings LLC. Affliction alleged a likelihood of confusion between its upside-down fleur-de-lis inside a circle with the words “Affliction Live Fast” in Gothic lettering and Utah Vap’s right-side-up fleur-de-lis inside a circle with the words “Vape Affliction” in a different font. Although the district court held that no reasonable juror could find a likelihood of confusion between the marks, the marks are highly similar; moreover, Affliction’s mark is both conceptually ...