2023 年 4 月 19 日，奢侈時尚品牌 Tribe of Two 在紐約南區法院對 Tod’s 提起商標侵權訴訟。 Tribe of Two 銷售手工製作的皮革和異國情調的手袋、錢包和旅行配件，聲稱 Tod's 的TT標誌侵犯了其自己的標誌，該標誌在該Tribe of Two的網站上被描述為「一個有意義的象徵，將Tribe of Two的兩個 T 結合，同時喚起羅馬數字2」。

Tribe of Two 的標誌於 2013 年 7 月 30 日在美國專利商標局註冊，用於錢包和皮夾。該商標在美國專利商標局的網站上被描述為「由一組兩個相鄰的正負陰影設計組成； 左邊的設計是一個陰影矩形，包含兩個風格化的互鎖大寫字母T，形成一個羅馬數字II，其中左側T是直立的，右側T是倒置的」。

相比之下，Tod's 於 2015 年 11 月 13 日申請註冊了三個商標，均「描繪兩個相反的大寫字母T」，用於包括鞋類、服裝和手袋在內的多種商品和服務。 從那時起，儘管 Tribe of Two LLC 已向美國專利商標局提出商標異議，但 Tod's 推出並推廣了許多帶有爭議標誌的產品，而該標誌因此獲得了很高的知名度。

考慮到上述情況，Tribe of Two 決定對 Tod's提起商標侵權的民事訴訟，商標侵權定義為「未經授權在商品和/或服務上或與商品和/或服務相關的情況下使用商標，可能會導致消費者對商品和/或服務來源的混淆、欺騙或錯誤」。鮮為人知的奢侈品牌需要證明其擁有比 Tod's 早註冊的有效商標，更重要的，其需要證明Tod's 商標很可能在消費者心目中對商品或服務的來源造成混淆。

為了確定消費者是否確實有可能被誤導或欺騙而相信商品或服務來自同一來源或產地，美國法院進行「混淆可能性」測試，這通常需要檢查兩個商標之間的相似程度和所涉商品/服務的相關性。商標越相似，商品/服務越相關，混淆的可能性就越大。

有趣的是，這個多因素測試被德克薩斯大學的 Robert G. Bone 教授批評為「混亂的（...）導致糟糕的結果（...）在學理上不一致，並且缺乏合理的規範基礎(...)」。本次反對 Tribe of Two 和 Tod's 的新案例將此測試再次……進行測試。

參考資料：About US – Tribe of Two | Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) (uspto.gov) | Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) (uspto.gov) | Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) (uspto.gov) | Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) (uspto.gov) | Woman WHITE Tod's Double T Shopping Bag Medium XBWDOTA1300JM7PZ9999 | Tods | Tribe of Two, LLC v. Tods, S.p.A., Ltd. et al 1:2023cv03255 | US District Court for the Southern District of New York | Justia | 15 U.S. Code § 1114 - Remedies; infringement; innocent infringement by printers and publishers | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu) | Taking the Confusion Out of "Likelihood of Confusion": Toward a More Sensible Approach to Trademark Infringement (northwestern.edu)

聲明：本文為作者原創作品，其中引用他（她）人的文獻、資料、圖件、資料均已在本文底部的 “參考資料” 部分明確列出。

Trademark battle between two luxury handbag designers over TT logo

On April 19, 2023, luxury fashion brand Tribe of Two filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Tod’s in the New York Southern District Court. Tribe of Two, which sells hand-crafted leather and exotic handbags, wallets, and travel accessories, claims that Tod’s TT logo infringes upon its own logo, described on the brand’s website as a “meaningful symbol uniting the two T's in "Tribe of Two," while simultaneously evoking the Roman number 2.”

The Tribe of Two’s logo was registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in July 30, 2013, for use in purses and wallets. The mark is here described as “consisting of a set of two adjacent positive and negative shaded designs; the design on the left is a shaded rectangle containing two stylized interlocking capital letter "T's" forming a Roman numeral "II" where the left side is upright and the right side "T" is inverted.”

In contrast, Tod’s applied for the registration of three trademarks all “depicting two opposing capital "T's"” on November 13, 2015, for use in a variety of goods and services including footwear, clothes and handbags. Since then, even though Tribe of Two LLC has filed trademark oppositions before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Tod’s has launched and promoted many products featuring the contested logo, which as a result has gained a lot of visibility.

Considering the foregoing, Tribe of Two decided to file a civil action against Tod’s for trademark infringement, defined as “the unauthorized use of a trademark on or in connection with goods and/or services in a manner that is likely to cause confusion, deception, or mistake about the source of the goods and/or services.” The lesser-known luxury brand will need to prove that it is the owner of a valid mark registered prior to that of Tod’s, and more importantly that Tod’s mark is likely to cause confusion in the minds of consumers about the source of the goods or services.

To determine whether consumers are indeed likely to be misled or deceived into believing that goods or services come from a same source or origin, U.S. courts perform a “likelihood of confusion” test, which typically entails examining the degree of similarity between the two marks and the relatedness of the goods/services at issue. The more similar the marks, the more related the goods/services, the more likely is the confusion.

Interestingly, this multifactor test has been criticized by Professor Robert G. Bone from the University of Texas as “a mess (...) produc[ing] bad results, (...) doctrinally incoherent, and lack[ing] a sensible normative foundation.” This new case opposing Tribe of Two and Tod’s will put it once again... to test. 

Reference Materials: About US – Tribe of Two | Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) (uspto.gov) | Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) (uspto.gov) | Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) (uspto.gov) | Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) (uspto.gov) | Woman WHITE Tod's Double T Shopping Bag Medium XBWDOTA1300JM7PZ9999 | Tods | Tribe of Two, LLC v. Tods, S.p.A., Ltd. et al 1:2023cv03255 | US District Court for the Southern District of New York | Justia | 15 U.S. Code § 1114 - Remedies; infringement; innocent infringement by printers and publishers | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu) | Taking the Confusion Out of "Likelihood of Confusion": Toward a More Sensible Approach to Trademark Infringement (northwestern.edu)

Statement: This article is an original work of authorship, and the documents, data, maps, and materials cited in it have been clearly listed in the “reference materials” section at the bottom of the article.

by 黃愷蜜 顧問