Legal Opinion
Secular Organizations for Sobriety, Inc. v. Ullrich
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Decided May 25, 2000No. Nos. 98-15143, 98-15317, 98-15407PublishedCited by 3 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
O’SCANNLAIN, Circuit Judge:
In this trademark case, we must decide whether an organization dedicated to providing a secular alternative for those seeking recovery from alcohol and drug dependency established secondary meaning in its name sufficient to exclude others from using a nearly identical mark.
I
This appeal involves a dispute between parties who assert competing claims for the exclusive right to use the names “Secular Organizations for Sobriety” and “SOS” in conjunction with alcohol and drug dependency meetings. These meetings are designed to provide a secular alternative to programs,…
2Cases cited8 opinions
- Murphy v. HuntSupreme Court of the United States · 1982
- Yamaha International Corporation v. Hoshino Gakki Co., Ltd., Assignee of Hoshino Gakki Ten Inc.Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit · 1988
- Norman Evans Green v. Gary L. Johnson, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional DivisionCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1998
- Weiner King, Inc. v. Wiener King Corp.Court of Customs and Patent Appeals · 1980
- Self-Realization Fellowship Church v. Ananda Church Of Self-RealizationCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1995
3 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by3 opinions
- Ciber, Inc. v. CIBER Consulting, Inc.District Court, N.D. Illinois · 2004
- First Sav. Bank, FSB v. US BancorpDistrict Court, D. Kansas · 2000
- Secular Organizations for Sobriety, Inc., Plaintiff-Counterdefendant-Appellant v. John E. Ullrich Dolly Manzi Rocky v. Ortega, Hubert Michael Lenihan Nancy Clark Sos West, Secular Organizations for Sobriety, Inc., Defendants-Counterclaimants-Appellees. Secular Organizations for Sobriety, Inc., Plaintiff-Counterdefendant-Appellee v. John E. Ullrich Dolly Manzi Rocky v. Ortega, and Hubert Michael Lenihan Nancy Clark, Defendants-Counterclaimants v. Sos West, Secular Organizations for Sobriety, Inc., Defendant-Counterclaimant-Appellant. Secular Organizations for Sobriety, Inc., Plaintiff-Counterdefendant-Appellee v. John E. Ullrich Dolly Manzi Rocky v. Ortega, Hubert Michael Lenihan Nancy Clark, Defendants-Counterclaimants, and Sos West, Secular Organizations for Sobriety, Inc., Defendant-Counterclaimant-AppellantCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2000