US Trademark Law’s Global Reach Curtailed by Supreme Court (2)

The Supreme Court’s decision to gut a $90 million trademark award and limit the foreign reach of the Lanham Act could handcuff brand owners trying to enforce their trademark rights in a global marketplace, according to some attorneys and a four-justice concurrence.

Abitron Germany GmbH convinced the justices that the critical question was whether the sales in which it used the mark were all conducted abroad, undercutting the bulk of Hetronic International Inc.'s award. Hetronic had sued its former licensee for continuing use of the mark to sell radio remote controls after their relationship ended.

The court’s opinion, authored by ...