On April 9, a California federal judge ruled in favor of Finnegan client American Petroleum Institute (API), dismissing Choose Energy’s federal trademark claim against API. Choose Energy owns the domain name “chooseenergy.com”. API registered the domain name “chooseenergy.org” for its 2014 election campaign called “Choose Energy,” designed to encourage voters to elect candidates who were in support of oil and natural gas reserves. Choose Energy filed a preliminary injunction in October, claiming that API’s political activity constitutes a service under the Lanham Act, and therefore will cause customer confusion. Choose Energy sought to shut down API’s website and make API pay damages for allegedly damaging its brand. The judge refused to issue the preliminary injunction and allowed API to keep their website live until Election Day. In the recent ruling, the judge cited that the two parties are not competitors and that API’s website is protected political speech.
