Justices Toss New Defense Preclusion in Lucky’s Trademark War (2)

The Supreme Court nixed a win for Marcel Fashions in its decades-long dispute with Lucky Brand, tossing a novel “defense preclusion” backed by the New York-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Lucky Brand, a jeans maker, can invoke a defense it didn’t in a prior infringement lawsuit because the trademarks at issue and time frame of alleged infringement were different, the high court ruled unanimously.

Res judicata, also known as claim preclusion, prevents a party from relitigating a claim that it did raise or could have raised in earlier litigation. The court declined to say whether claim ...