Navigating Cross-Border Trademark Disputes with the Lanham Act

Questions regarding the application of the Lanham Act to trademark rights or acts of infringement arising outside the United States continue to be a source of debate among circuit courts. When can a U.S. trademark owner pursue foreign infringers in U.S. courts? When can a foreign trademark owner assert a Lanham Act claim in the United States? In 2021, the Supreme Court denied a petition for writ of certiorari in Belmora LLC v. Bayer Consumer Care AG, leaving unresolved a circuit split on the issue of whether a foreign trademark owner has standing for a Lanham Act claim when it has never used its mark in the United States. Now, following the Solicitor General’s recent recommendation in the matter Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc., it appears likely that the Supreme Court will choose to weigh in on a different question: the extent to which the owner of a mark in the United States may recover damages for infringing sales that occur in foreign markets.

In this presentation, our panelists will discuss the current state of the law on a range of issues relating to cross-border trademark disputes, including:

• The extraterritorial scope and application of the Lanham Act
• Remedies available in U.S. courts for trademark infringement occurring in other jurisdictions
• Challenges to U.S. trademark applications and registrations based on rights established in other jurisdictions

Panelists

• Joyce Liou, Partner, Morrison Foerster
• Muzamil Huq, Of Counsel, Morrison Foerster
• Eoin Connolly, Associate, Morrison Foerster

On-demand replay.