Citation[]
Labrador Software, Inc. v. Lycos, Inc., 32 F.Supp.2d 31 (D. Mass. 1999) (full-text).
Factual Background[]
Plaintiff used the marks LABRADOR, LABRADOR E-RETRIEVER, and a Labrador dog image in connection with its software designed to search corporate Intranets.
Trial Court Proceedings[]
It sought a preliminary injunction to prevent defendant from using an image of a black Labrador dog called “Lycos” to advertise its Internet search engine, alleging trademark infringement and dilution. The court denied the motion for a preliminary injunction, finding that plaintiff’s marks were not protectable. Specifically, the court held that the marks were merely descriptive, primarily based on evidence that a number of third parties used identical or similar marks in the Internet industry. And plaintiff’s use of its marks in a “limited promotional campaign for its yet-to-be released product” over a few months was insufficient to establish secondary meaning.
Source[]
- This page uses content from Finnegan's Internet Trademark Case Summaries. This entry is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).