The US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit concluded that in
the context of federally registered service marks (as opposed to
common law trademarks), the trademark owner's first use of its
marks on goods was not determinative. Savannah Coll. of Art
& Design, Inc. v. Sportswear, Inc., Case No. 15-13830
(11th Cir., Oct. 3, 2017) (Jordan, J).
Sportswear began using federally
registered service marks owned by Savannah College of Art &
Design in connection with apparel and other goods on its website,
without permission from the college. Savannah College sued, arguing
that Sportswear had infringed its service marks, among other
things. The district court concluded that Savannah College had
failed to establish that it had enforceable rights in its marks
that extended to apparel because the college had only registered
its service marks for use in connection with educational services,
and had not shown that it had used its marks on apparel earlier
than Sportswear. Savannah
