Opinion ID: 77999
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Registered Mark

Text: Sometime in the early 1980s, an AMSFT chapter in Las Vegas, Nevada, developed a mark that combined the words The Angel Flight with a winged caduceus. During the same period of time, a Los Angeles-based AMSFT chapter (later known as Angel Flight West) began using the same mark, with permission from the Las Vegas chapter. When the Las Vegas group later became defunct, Angel Flight West continued to use the mark, which it modified slightly by altering the design of the wings and adding a stylized type to the words Angel Flight. In 1987, after confirming the Las Vegas organization was no longer in existence, Angel Flight West applied for registration of the modified mark. The registration application was completed by Dennis Torres, then-president of Angel Flight West. On the application, Torres listed a first use date of November 21, 1983. That date preceded the creation of the modified logo by more than three years. In the same trademark application, Torres represented that Angel Flight West was the owner of the mark and, to the best of his knowledge and belief, no other person, firm, corporation, or association had the right to use the mark in commerce, either in an identical form or a near resemblance such as would be likely to cause confusion or mistake or deceive. Despite this representation, at the time the registration application was completed, other organizations were using the name Angel Flight (or The Angel Flight) in connection with volunteer pilot efforts in other states. Some of these groups were in contact with Angel Flight West. On June 7, 1988, the Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Trademark No. 1,491,541 to Angel Flight West for the following combination of words and symbols: In May 2001, Angel Flight West assigned the registered mark to the newly-formed AFA. In turn, AFA licensed the mark to its affiliated member organizations.