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ARTICLE · 09 JULY 2013

B&B Hardware Inc. v. Hargis Indus., Inc.

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
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This decision brings to an end fifteen years of protracted litigation that included two TTAB proceedings, two jury trials, and three trips to the Eighth Circuit.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Brett Heavner
Brett Heavner
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This article previously appeared in Incontestable Trademark Newsletter - June 2013.

CASE SUMMARY

Facts

Plaintiff B&B Hardware Inc. ("B&B") has produced industrial fasteners for the aerospace industry under the mark SEALTIGHT since 1990. B&B's SEALTIGHT mark was registered with the PTO in 1993. Subsequently, Hargis Industries, Inc. ("Hargis") adopted the mark SEALTITE for its self-drilling, self-taping screws for use in the metal-building industry. Hargis applied to register SEALTITE with the PTO in 1996, but its application was initially refused due to the B&B registration. In response, Hargis petitioned to cancel the B&B registration in the TTAB on the ground that the B&B mark had been abandoned. The TTAB cancellation action was suspended before a final decision because B&B sued Hargis in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arkansas, alleging infringement of its registered SEALTIGHT trademark. After trial, the jury found that the B&B mark was

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