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Victor's Victorious

By Karen Marie Kitterman

The United States Supreme Court decided its first Federal Trademark Dilution Act (FTDA) case on March 4, 2003, in Moseley et al. dba Victor's Little Secret v. V Secret Catalogue, Inc. et al. The Court granted certiorari to settle the Circuits' differing opinions on whether relief under the FTDA requires a showing of objective proof of actual injury to the economic value of a famous mark, as opposed to a presumption of harm arising from a subjective 'likelihood of dilution' showing.

In deciding that objective proof of actual injury is required, the Court unanimously reversed the Sixth Circuit's decision, which had affirmed an injunction prohibiting the Petitioners, Victor and Cathy Moseley, from using the 'Victor's Little Secret' name for their small lingerie and 'adult novelties' store in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. The Respondents were the affiliated corporations that own the VICTORIA'S SECRET trademark, operate 750 Victoria's Secret lingerie stores, including two in Elizabethtown, and distribute 400 million copies of the Victoria's Secret lingerie catalog each year, including 39,000 in Elizabethtown.

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