SCOTUS Abitron Decision Will Force Companies to Step-Up Foreign Trademark Rights

Given the recent narrowing of the application protections under the Lanham Act by the US Supreme Court, companies must enhance their foreign trademark rights and enforcement efforts.

The high court agreed with lower courts in Abitron v. Hetronic that Lanham is applicable to trademark penalties on foreign companies, even though the law isn’t extraterritorial, if their infringing activities are used “in commece” in the United States.

“One possible reading of that opinion is that the Lanham Act can only apply to allegedly infringing sales of goods or services made directly in the United States by the manufacturer, seller, or service provider,” Finnegan partner Mark Sommers told Legal Dive. “If that is the position adopted by lower courts, then companies will need to strengthen their foreign rights to ensure they can prevent infringing trademark uses abroad.”

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