Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Trademarks - Extraterritorial Application Of The Lanham Act, William R. Luney S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, an American corporation, had manufactured and sold women's undergarments in the United States and Canada since 1917, under a U.S. registered trademark, "Vanity Fair." Defendant, a Canadian corporation, had registered the same trademark in Canada in 1915, and for this reason plaintiff's application for a Canadian trademark was denied in 1919. From 1945 to 1953, defendant purchased plaintiff's trademarked goods for resale in Canada. In 1953, defendant began selling goods of Canadian manufacture with its own Vanity Fair trademark, and threatened its competitors in Canada with infringement suits if they continued to sell plaintiff's trademarked goods. In an action …