Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-03-03229/USCOURTS-ca8-03-03229-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 840
Nature of Suit: Trademark
Cause of Action: 

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1

The Honorable Clyde H. Hamilton, United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth

Circuit, sitting by designation.

2

The Honorable David S. Doty, United States District Judge for the District of

Minnesota.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 03-3229

___________

Mid-List Press, *

*

Appellee, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* District of Minnesota.

James J. Nora, Sr., *

*

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: May 14, 2004

Filed: July 9, 2004

___________

Before WOLLMAN, HAMILTON,1

 and BYE, Circuit Judges.

___________

BYE, Circuit Judge.

Dr. James J. Nora, Sr., appeals from an order the district court2

 entered

pursuant to the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051-1128, enjoining him from using the

Mid-List Press (MLP) trade name to market his book of poetry, Songs from a Brazen

Bull. We affirm.

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I

We summarize the background of this case and refer the reader to the district

court's published decision for a more detailed account. See Mid-List Press v. Nora,

275 F. Supp. 2d 997, 998-1000 (D. Minn. 2003). 

MLP is a modest-sized Minneapolis-based publisher of fiction, poetry, and

creative nonfiction. MLP had its origins in 1988 when Dr. Nora, a cardiologist and

academician by profession, started a publishing company out of his home in Denver,

Colorado, for the purpose of publishing a few books, including his own. The

Colorado company, incorporated in 1990 under the name Jackson, Hart & Leslie, Inc.

(the middle names of Nora's three children), eventually dissolved and the assets were

transferred to a Minnesota company of the same name incorporated as a nonprofit

corporation in 1993. The original Colorado enterprise registered Mid-List Press as

its trade name; the Minnesota corporation continues to use the same trade name (we

refer throughout to the entity's trade name rather than its corporate moniker).

After MLP obtained nonprofit status, Dr. Nora continued as a director and

corporate president, but lived in Colorado and did not actively manage the company.

Dr. Nora's daughter, Marianne, who lives in Minneapolis, has been involved in the

company since its inception. She and her husband, Lane Stiles, both of whom were

corporate officers and members of the board of directors, managed the day-to-day

operations after MLP incorporated in Minnesota.

In 2001, Dr. Nora submitted a book of his poetry, Songs from a Brazen Bull,

to MLP for publication. Specifically, Dr. Nora wanted MLP to affix its seven-digit

International Standard Book Number (ISBN) publisher prefix to the book (which

when combined with a three-digit suffix unique to each book becomes the book's tendigit ISBN for inventory, marketing, and distribution purposes), obtain a Library of

Congress Catalog Number (LCCN) for the book, and have the book printed for

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The First Series program published the works of first-time poets. Dr. Nora,

although a published author, was not a published poet.

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publication. MLP advised Dr. Nora, however, it would not publish the poetry unless

Dr. Nora submitted the book and it was accepted for publication through MLP's First

Series Award for Poetry program.3

 MLP told Dr. Nora the assets of a nonprofit

organization could not be used for the personal benefit of its officers and directors,

and therefore MLP could not favor him over other unpublished poet applicants.

Believing he had the power to do so as the corporate president, Dr. Nora

circumvented MLP's procedure for publishing his book. He used MLP's seven-digit

ISBN publisher prefix to obtain an LCCN from the Library of Congress, had his book

printed, and attempted to market it through Amazon.com as an MLP product. After

Amazon.com initially rejected the book because Dr. Nora had used an invalid threedigit ISBN suffix, Dr. Nora contacted R.R. Bowker, the company that assigns ISBN

numbers to publishers. He obtained a valid suffix, successfully reapplied to

Amazon.com, and began marketing Songs from a Brazen Bull as an MLP product.

Dr. Nora did all this without the approval of any other officer or director of MLP.

After discovering Dr. Nora's activities, MLP's board of directors met and

removed him as a director and the president of MLP. MLP also initiated this lawsuit,

alleging Dr. Nora falsely designated the origin of his book in violation of the Lanham

Act; engaged in deceptive trade practices in violation of the Minnesota Uniform

Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Minn. Stat. §§ 325D.43-.48; breached the fiduciary

duties he owed to MLP; and committed the tort of conversion.

After the parties filed cross-motions for partial summary judgment, the district

court granted MLP's motion on all issues save the conversion claim. The district

court held Dr. Nora falsely designated the origin of his book by using MLP's trade

name and ISBN, and permanently enjoined Dr. Nora from any further publication,

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sale, or promotion of Songs from a Brazen Bull under the MLP trade name. This

timely appeal of the injunction followed.

II

We review the issuance of a permanent injunction for abuse of discretion.

Randolph v. Rodgers, 170 F.3d 850, 856 (8th Cir. 1999).

Dr. Nora essentially raises three issues on appeal. First, Dr. Nora contends he

could not have violated the Lanham Act when he used MLP's trade name to market

his book because he had authority to act on behalf of MLP as its president and was

in fact acting on MLP's behalf when he published his book of poetry. Therefore, he

argues, the book actually is an MLP product and there can be no claim for false

designation of origin under the Lanham Act. We disagree. 

The mere fact Dr. Nora was MLP's president is insufficient to show his actions

were MLP's actions. In cases of self-dealing between a corporate officer and his

corporation, the law presumes the officer acts on his own behalf and not the

company's. See, e.g., Snyder Elec. Co. v. Fleming, 305 N.W.2d 863, 867 (Minn.

1981) ("[I]n all cases of claimed self-dealing or conflict of interest against corporate

officers and directors, such transactions are presumptively fraudulent and to

overcome this presumption the executive must show by clear proof he acted with

impartiality and fairness to the corporation."). Even when the record is viewed in the

light most favorable to Dr. Nora, we conclude the presumption stands; Dr. Nora has

not shown he acted on MLP's behalf when he published his book of poetry. Indeed,

as MLP argues on appeal, we can see how publication of the corporate president's

own book without following normal procedures could seriously tarnish MLP's

reputation as a nonprofit publisher, and thus run counter to the corporation's interests.

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Second, Dr. Nora claims the MLP trade name and its ISBN number were his

personal property. He argues MLP was merely using the trade name with his

permission. Again, we disagree. The district court correctly determined Dr. Nora did

not have a personal interest in the trade name and ISBN because "they exist only

insofar as they are associated with the ongoing publishing business." Mid-List Press

v. Nora, 275 F. Supp. 2d at 1002 (citing United Drug Co. v. Theodore Rectanus Co.,

248 U.S. 90, 97 (1918) ("There is no such thing as property in a trade-mark except

as a right appurtenant to an established business or trade in connection with which the

mark is employed.")).

Finally, Dr. Nora argues the district court abused its discretion in granting a

permanent injunction because MLP failed to present evidence of actual consumer

confusion. Dr. Nora claims actual consumer confusion is a necessary element of a

false-designation-of-origin claim. The applicable provision of the Lanham Act,

however, prohibits a person from using "any false designation of origin . . . which .

. . is likely to cause confusion." 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1) & (a)(1)(A) (emphasis

added). Proof of likelihood of confusion is all that is required to obtain injunctive

relief. See Woodsmith Publ'g. Co. v. Meredith Corp., 904 F.2d 1244, 1247 n.5 (8th

Cir. 1990).

MLP proved likelihood of confusion given the circumstances present in this

case. Typical Lanham Act claims involve situations where the alleged wrongdoer

uses a mark or name so similar to the plaintiff's the public is likely to be deceived.

This case involves a situation where the wrongdoer used the plaintiff's actual mark,

not merely a similar mark, to pass off his product as the plaintiff's. In an analogous

case – where the wrongdoer passed off the plaintiff's work as his own – one of our

sister circuits was "hard-pressed to imagine what effect these actions could possibly

have other than to convince anyone who looked at the plans that they were

[defendant's] work. Few are the cases demonstrating a more obvious and imminent

likelihood of confusion." Johnson v. Johnson, 149 F.3d 494, 503 (6th Cir. 1998). We

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believe the observation is equally apt here. It is difficult to imagine how the public

would not be confused about the origin of Songs from a Brazen Bull, when the book

actually bore the MLP trade name and ISBN number.

III

For the reasons stated, we find no abuse of discretion and affirm the district

court's permanent injunction in all respects.

______________________________

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