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ARTICLE · 09 DECEMBER 2024

Ghostly Misstep: No Confusion Means No Preliminary Injunction

McDermott Will & Emery
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In a trademark case involving an incontestable registration, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a district court ruling denying the registrant a preliminary injunction (PI)...

United StatesIntellectual Property
Sarah Mezini
Sarah Mezini
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In a trademark case involving an incontestable registration, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a district court ruling denying the registrant a preliminary injunction (PI) for failure to establish likelihood of confusion. US Ghost Adventures, LLC v. Miss Lizzie's Coffee LLC, Case No. 23-2000 (1st Cir. Nov. 15, 2024) (Selya, Barron, Gelpí, JJ.)

In 1892, prosecutors alleged that Lizzie Borden hacked her parents to death in their family home. Borden was acquitted of all charges, leaving the murder unsolved. This mystery made Borden's ancestral home a travel destination for all intrigued by the legend.

US Ghost Adventures owns a bed and breakfast located at the Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, Massachusetts. Ghost Adventures also owns an incontestable federal trademark on the LIZZIE BORDEN name as used in its services and on its hatchet logo displaying a notched blade.

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