RESOLVED, that IPO supports reversal of the summary judgment opinion reported as Pennsylvania State University v. Vintage Brand LLC, 715 F. Supp. 3d 602 (M.D. Pa. 2024), clarified on denial of reconsideration, No. 4:21-CV-01091, 2024 WL 1416505 (M.D. Pa. Apr. 2, 2024), which decided against certain fundamental and long-settled rights of trademark owners.
IPO supports the following concepts, all as they relate specifically to establishing trademark usage rights:
- the principle that use by a trademark licensee of a trademark under a valid license from the licensor is considered use of that trademark by the licensor;
- the principle that a trademark licensor is considered the origin of the goods or services that bears its mark, even where it is not the physical source of the goods or services, so long as a valid license is in place between the licensor and licensee; and
- the principle that the Lanham Act’s remedies, including anti-counterfeiting remedies, are equally available to trademark owners whose use is solely through licensees, in addition to trademark owners whose rights are based on their direct use of their marks.