Coffee Cartridge Company Beats Trademark Infringement Appeal

The Ninth Circuit upheld a Seattle federal court’s decision that a coffee pod and filter maker infringed another company’s trademark.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington found that Adrian Rivera Maynez Enterprises Inc. infringed on Eko Brands LLC’s “Ekowbrew” trademark for brewing cartridges. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed that decision, saying that ARM showed willful infringement with its “Eco-fill” mark.

ARM argued that the “Ekobrew” mark shouldn’t be protected because it’s descriptive of the product. The district court was correct in saying Eko’s mark is protected, the Ninth Circuit said, because ...