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School is Back in Session – Trademark Roundup
Penn State Files Trademark Lawsuit against Sports Beer Brewing Company
On July 26, 2019 the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), filed a multi-count complaint for federal and state claims for trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin, dilution, counterfeiting, common law trademark infringement and unfair competition under Pennsylvania law, and is attempting to cancel defendant's conflicting marks. Comparing the Defendant, Paul L. Parshall d/b/a Sports Beer Brewing Company (Parshall), to a cybersquatter, Penn State's complaint alleges that Parshall "secretly" registers famous marks with state trademark offices that do not do substantively check other federal or state trademark records for conflicts before issuing registrations. See, The Pennsylvania State University v. Parshall, Complaint, Dkt No.1, 4:19-cv-01299 (M.D. Pa. Jul 26, 2019). In turn, Penn State alleges, Parshall attempts to license those trademarks to third parties. When Penn State confronted Parshall regarding its putatively infringing conduct, Penn State alleges that Parshall offered to sell Penn State's marks back to it. Id. at 2.
The Complaint identifies numerous registrations that Penn State has obtained in "PENN STATE" formative marks as well as the related "NITTANY LIONS" formative marks for a variety of goods and services for everything from "mustard" to "entertainment services" and "sweatshirts". It claims that since its founding in 1855, and its subsequent operation under the name "The Pennsylvania State University" in 1953, it has become incredibly famous throughout the United States and the world. Indeed, Penn State has 24 campuses, 17,000 faculty members, and over 100,000 students. Id. at 4.
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