Segway Trademarks Infringed by ‘Swagway’ Hoverboards (1)

“Swagway” hoverboards infringe Segway Inc.'s trademarks, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed May 9.

The International Trade Commission correctly determined that “Swagway” creates a likelihood of confusion with “Segway” even without evidence of actual confusion, the appeals court said in a precedential decision.

Segway complained that the importation of Swagway LLC’s “Swagway” and “Swagtron” hoverboards infringed Segway’s trademarks. An administrative law judge found that only “Swagway” infringed and the ITC affirmed, after decreasing the amount of weight the lack of actual confusion contributed to the likelihood of confusion test.

The decision is significant in that it’s ...