Opinion ID: 807878
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Analytical Framework

Text: We analyze trademark infringement claims in two stages. “First, we look to see whether plaintiff’s mark merits protection.” Louis Vuitton Malletier v. Dooney & Bourke, Inc., 454 F.3d 108, 115 (2d Cir. 2006). In order for a trademark to be protectable, the mark must be “distinctive” and not “generic.” Genesee Brewing Co. v. Stroh Brewing Co., 124 F.3d 137, 143 (2d Cir. 1997). A mark is said to be “inherently” distinctive if “[its] intrinsic nature serves to identify a particular source.” Two Pesos, Inc. v. Taco Cabana, Inc., 505 U.S. 763, 768 (1992).9 Even a mark that is not inherently distinctive may nonetheless “acquire” distinctiveness by developing “secondary meaning” in the public mind. Inwood Labs., Inc. v. Ives Labs., Inc., 456 U.S. 844, 851 n.11 (1982). A mark has acquired “secondary meaning” when, “in the minds of the public, the primary significance of a product feature . . . is to identify the source of the product rather than the product itself.” Id.10 8 See Fabrication Enters., Inc., 64 F.3d at 59 n.4 (“The Lanham Act is not concerned with protecting innovation by giving the innovator a monopoly, which is the function of patent law.”); cf. Carol Barnhart Inc. v. Econ. Cover Corp., 773 F.2d 411, 421 n.1 (2d Cir. 1985) (Newman, J., dissenting) (“Any concern that copyright protection may accord a monopoly to advances in functional design is adequately met by confining the scope of copyright protection to the precise expression of the proprietor’s design.” (citation omitted)). 9 Although Two Pesos, and several of the other cases we rely upon, discuss unregistered trade dress rather than a registered trademark, the infringement analysis is the same. See Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Samara Bros., Inc., 529 U.S. 205, 210– 11 (2000) (noting with approval instances in which courts analyzed distinctiveness with regard to trade dress by analogy to the law of registered trademarks); Louis Vuitton Malletier, 454 F.3d at 115 (noting that the “same analysis [used in claims of trade dress infringement] applies to claims of trademark infringement under § 32”); Fabrication Enters., Inc., 64 F.3d at 57 n.2 (noting that the distinction between defendant’s counterclaims of trade dress and trademark infringement was “immaterial . . . because functionality . . . is a defense in both trademark and trade dress cases”). 10 “A certificate of registration with the PTO is prima facie evidence that the mark is registered and valid (i.e., protect[a]ble), that the registrant owns the mark, and that the registrant has the exclusive right to use the mark in commerce.” Lane Capital Mgmt., Inc. v. Lane Capital Mgmt., Inc., 192 F.3d 337, 345 (2d Cir. 1999). In order to rebut the presumption of validity, the allegedly infringing party must show, by a preponderance of the evidence, see id., that the mark is ineligible for protection. See 15 U.S.C. § 1115(a) (a party seeking to invalidate a registration must prove the existence of a 11 Second, if (and only if) the plaintiff’s trademark is “distinctive” within the meaning of trademark law and is therefore valid and protectable, we must then determine “whether [the] defendant’s use of a similar mark is likely to cause consumer confusion.” Louis Vuitton Malletier, 454 F.3d at 115. In this second stage, if a markholder has successfully demonstrated that its mark is valid and that the competitor’s mark is likely to cause confusion, “the competitor can [nevertheless] prevail . . . by showing that the [mark] is functional”―a traditional defense to the enforcement of a trademark. Stormy Clime Ltd. v. ProGroup, Inc., 809 F.2d 971, 974 (2d Cir. 1987) (“Stormy Clime”), disapproved on other grounds by Two Pesos, 505 U.S. at 773. The “functionality” of a mark can be demonstrated by, inter alia, showing that the mark has either traditional “utilitarian” functionality or “aesthetic” functionality. New Colt Holding Corp. v. RJG Holdings of Fla., Inc., 312 F. Supp. 2d 195, 212 (D. Conn. 2004); see Section III, post. With this traditional (if somewhat mechanical) taxonomy in mind, we turn to the history of single-color trademarks.