Rival ‘Moke’ Trademark Claims Revived as Genericness Ruling Axed

Two companies vying for “Moke” trademark rights convinced a split Fourth Circuit panel to negate a judge’s ruling that the term had become generic—without foreclosing the possibility he was right.

Moke America LLC and Moke International Ltd. dispute which has rights to the trademark but both argued it’s a valid mark to the US Court of Appeals to the Fourth Circuit. District Judge David J. Novak had found the term is now perceived as a term for a type—not the maker—of open-air recreation vehicle. But he erred because, despite “some evidence” of genericide, there is evidence also pointing to distinctiveness, ...