Eight Is Not Enough: Second Circuit Adopts Eleven Factor Nominative Fair Use Test In Certification Mark Case

International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (known as ISC²) is a non-profit organization that owns a registered certification mark for the term CISSP® (meaning "Certified Information Systems Professional"). In 2010, ISC² sued Security University, a for-profit company that provides training in this field, because Security University described its lead instructor as a "Master CISSP®" or a "CISSP® Master." Although these advertisements had disclaimers stating that the Security University classes were "not endorsed, sponsored or delivered by ISC²" and acknowledging ISC²'s ownership of the registered mark, ISC² complained that the use of this combined term was muddying the waters by implying that there existed some higher form of "master" certification that does not exist.