Opinion ID: 465427
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Enforcement of the Stipulated Judgment

Text: 15 In general, a party entering into a settlement agreement with respect to a trademark will be held to his contract unless enforcement of the contract would result in injury to the public through confusion. If the party seeking rescission can show some injury to the public, as opposed to mere injury to the party's business, 1 then the court is to balance the public interest against confusion, one of the significant purposes of trademark law, against the interest in enforcing contracts.... T & T Manufacturing Co. v. A.T. Cross Co., 449 F.Supp. 813, 827 (D.R.I.), aff'd, 587 F.2d 533 (1st Cir.1978), cert. denied, 441 U.S. 908, 99 S.Ct. 2000, 60 L.Ed.2d 377 (1979). Thus, the determination whether to rescind or modify is essentially a factual inquiry into the degree or extent of public confusion. 2 16 Even if VISA were not entitled to rescission or modification of the Stipulated Judgment based on evidence of public injury, VISA would still be entitled to enforcement of its terms and to that degree of clarification necessary to secure meaningful enforcement. See Vertex Distributing, Inc. v. Falcon Foam Plastics, Inc., 689 F.2d 885, 892 (9th Cir.1982). Because the Stipulated Judgment used the test of public confusion to circumscribe BCH's use of the VISA marks, enforcement and clarification also require a factual inquiry into public confusion. 3 17 In short, the factual inquiry relating to public confusion was a predicate to virtually every form of relief sought by VISA. The Stipulated Agreement in this case expressly provided that the court retained jurisdiction for further orders and directions as may be necessary or appropriate for the construction and effectuation of this final judgment and the Agreement.... Even absent such express language, a district court retains the inherent equitable power to rescind, modify, clarify or enforce a stipulated injunction. Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b); see, e.g., System Federation No. 91, Railway Employees' Department v. Wright, 364 U.S. 642, 646-47, 81 S.Ct. 368, 370-71, 5 L.Ed.2d 349, 352-53 (1961). In this case, the district court's retention of jurisdiction necessarily included a commitment to allow an examination of the factual basis for a claim of public confusion. It is within this context that the denial of the Rule 56(f) application must be examined.