Online Retailers Not Immune From Trademark Infringement

Online retailer Wayfair, LLC, d/b/a www.wayfair.com, filed a trademark infringement action against The Furniture Authority for using Wayfair's house mark, WAYFAIR, and its WILDON HOME mark, both of which are federally registered on The Furniture Authority's website. Civil Action No. 1:12-cv-12155 (D. Mass) (Nov. 19, 2012). According to the complaint, a search of The Furniture Authority's website using "Wayfair" produces two hits for products that include the Wayfair name and a search using "Wildon Home" produces 671 results.

With the dismissal and settlement of the Google-Rosetta Stone case, the use of another's trademark in advertising is still undecided. However, using another's trademark directly on your website is actionable and this case shows that online retailers need to guard their trademarks just as much as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.

What's The "Best" Trademark?

Best Selling Home Decor Furniture, LLC (Canoga Park, CA) ("BSHDF") has filed a declaratory judgment lawsuit against Best Chairs, Inc. (Ferdinand, IN) seeking a judgment that BSHDF's use of "Best" as a corporate name does not infringe any trademark rights of Best Chairs. Civil Action No. 2:12-cv-9568 (C.D. Cal.). The complaint alleges that Best Chairs' attorney sent a letter to BSHDF demanding that BSHDF stop using "Best" as a trademark or trade name and to withdraw its U.S. trademark application for:

Best Chair has yet to respond to BSHDF's complaint. The case exemplifies the need to select a unique identifier for a company trademark. In some cases, a company can take a descriptive word and make it a trademark (e.g., Fine Furniture Design). In other cases, selection of a word like "best" is destined to cause these type disputes.