Opinion ID: 787862
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: state trademark claim

Text: 69 Lastly, Polar Bear asks us to consider whether the district court improperly applied a two-year statute of limitations barring its state law trademark infringement claim. Polar Bear argues that this point is not insignificant as the state claim would permit it to seek punitive damages. Without comment as to the scope or viability of Polar Bear's trademark claim, we conclude that Montana's three-year statute of limitations for general tort claims should apply to claims brought under the state trademark statute instead of the two-year limit for actions based on fraud. 16 Consequently, we remand so that Polar Bear may proceed with its trademark claim under Montana law. 70 The Montana trademark law does not specify a statute of limitations. See Mont.Code Ann. § 30-13-303 et seq. In determining the applicable statute of limitations, we begin our analysis with the observation that trademark infringement generally sounds in tort. See Panavision Int'l, L.P. v. Toeppen, 141 F.3d 1316, 1321 (9th Cir.1998) (noting that trademark infringement is akin to a tort case for purposes of determining jurisdiction); Int'l Order of Job's Daughters v. Lindeburg and Co., 633 F.2d 912, 915 (9th Cir.1980) (describing trademark infringement as part of a general commercial tort of unfair competition); see also Two Pesos v. Taco Cabana, Inc., 505 U.S. 763, 785, 112 S.Ct. 2753, 120 L.Ed.2d 615 (1992) (J. Thomas, concurring) (the Lanham Act codified, among other things, the ... common-law tort[ ] of technical trademark infringement). 71 In Montana, tort actions are governed by a three-year statute of limitations, unless a more specific statute of limitations controls. Mont.Code Ann. § 27-2-204; see also Powder River County v. State, 312 Mont. 198, 60 P.3d 357, 371-72 (2002). Examples of these specific statutes of limitations include actions for childhood sexual abuse, slander or libel, assault and battery, as well as torts for medical and legal malpractice. No specific statute is within the ballpark — or, in this case, time zone — of a claim of trademark infringement. And, even if there were a colorable argument that other time limits apply, such as those for fraud or injury to property, the Montana Supreme Court has made clear that [w]here there is a substantial question as to which of two or more statutes of limitations should apply, the general rule is that the doubt should be resolved in favor of the statute containing the longest limitations. Ritland v. Rowe, 260 Mont. 453, 861 P.2d 175, 178 (1993). Absent any contrary indication from the Montana Supreme Court that a more specific statute of limitations applies to claims brought under Montana trademark law, we elect to apply the three-year statute of limitations to Polar Bear's claim. 17 72 We are not persuaded by Timex's three alternative arguments in favor of rejecting Polar Bear's trademark claims. First, Timex urges the application of the two-year limit for actions involving liability created by statute. However, under Montana law, the phrase liability created by statute does not include rights that existed in the common law but were later codified. See Royal Ins. Co. v. Roadarmel, 301 Mont. 508, 11 P.3d 105, 108-09 (2000). The cause of action for trademark infringement existed at common law, see Truzzolino Food Prods. Co. v. F.W. Woolworth Co., 108 Mont. 408, 91 P.2d 415, 415-16 (Mont.1939) overruled on other grounds by Fauver v. Wilkoske, 123 Mont. 228, 211 P.2d 420, 426 (1949), and thus, Timex's argument is without merit. Timex's argument is also foreclosed by the Montana trademark statute itself, which expressly states that the statute does not affect the rights held under the common law. Mont.Code Ann. § 30-13-336. 73 Nor is there support for Timex's argument that Polar Bear's trademark claims are preempted by the Copyright Act. Copyright and trademark are related but distinct property rights, evidenced by different federal statutes governing their protection. Compare Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq. with the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125; see also Comedy III Prods., Inc. v. New Line Cinema, 200 F.3d 593, 595 (9th Cir.2000) (recognizing different protections under copyright and trademark). The Copyright Act does not preempt related state laws if the state laws protect rights which are qualitatively different from copyright rights.... Valente-Kritzer Video v. Pinckney, 881 F.2d 772, 776 (9th Cir.1989) (internal quotation marks and alterations omitted). 74 Equally unconvincing is Timex's argument that Polar Bear failed to state a claim under Montana trademark law. 18 Polar Bear has yet to present its case as to whether PaddleQuest is a protectable recognizable trademark and whether Timex infringed the mark. We decline Timex's invitation to decide the issue before presented with a district court ruling. Thus, Polar Bear may proceed with its state law trademark claim.