Upwork Ducks Ban on Using ‘Freelancer’ as Supreme Court Passes

Online freelancing platform Upwork Global Inc. can use “freelancer” as a descriptive term during competitor Freelancer International Pty Ltd.'s trademark litigation, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review denial of a preliminary injunction.

Freelancer’s lawsuit alleged that Upwork “explicitly adopted Freelancer’s branding to trade on Freelancer’s goodwill and reputation associated with the Freelancer trademark.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a California judge’s refusal to ban Upwork from using the term descriptively as it found Upwork likely to succeed on its fair use defense. It cannot use the term in the manner of a trademark, ...