Popularity of ‘AAA’ Business Name Is Crux of Trademark Case

The American Automobile Association Inc. sued a San Jose, Calif., locksmith May 9, saying his use of the name “AAA Locksmith” violates the motor club’s trademark rights.

The nonprofit AAA club sued in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to stop the locksmith company from using “any combination of multiple letter ‘A’s’” in a way that would create an association with AAA (American Automobile Ass’n, Inc. v. AAA Locksmith, N.D. Cal., 17-2668, complaint filed 5/9/17).

The case is just another in a series of trademark battles AAA has waged. Over the last five years, the ...