CEDIA Receives Partial Victory In Trademark Lawsuit Filed By Bose Corporation

23-Jul-04

CEDIA has received a partial victory in its battle with Bose Corporation in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board over CEDIA's federal trademark registrations in the mark ""Electronic Lifestyles."" Bose Corporation sued to cancel CEDIA's four trademarks last year, claiming that CEDIA's ""Electronic Lifestyles"" mark was likely to cause confusion with Bose's trademark registrations for the term ""Lifestyle,"" under which Bose markets a line of loudspeakers and music systems. On July 9, 2004, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled that Bose was too late in filing its cancellation action based on ""priority"" and ""likelihood of confusion"" as to the ""printed publications"" category of CEDIA's Electronic Lifestyles trademark. ""Accordingly,"" said the board, ""[Bose's] claim of priority and likelihood of confusion under Trademark Act Section 2(d) is hereby stricken from its amended petition for cancellation solely with regard to [CEDIA's Printed Publications] Registration."" In the same ruling, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board granted Bose's request to add a claim that CEDIA had abandoned its trademarks, noting that such requests to amend are ""freely given"" by the Board. Ray Lepper, CEDIA's President, said, ""Bose's claim that CEDIA has abandoned its registrations in Electronic Lifestyles is as absurd as the rest of Bose's claims in this action. Quite frankly, we believe that Bose saw that it was going to lose its claims based on 'priority' and 'likelihood of confusion,' and it concocted this abandonment claim to keep something alive as to the printed publications registration. We have every confidence that CEDIA will prevail in all of its defenses to Bose's actions, including Bose's new claim of 'abandonment'."" Lepper continued, ""To date, Bose's trademark action has cost the CEDIA membership $68,780.91 in expenses defending the action. As I have said before, this association has been built by the long, tireless efforts of thousands of volunteers and sponsors, and to have our trademark challenged in this manner by one of our very own members is very disturbing. To sue one's own association is wholly inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation and sacrifice that is the hallmark of the true CEDIA member."" ""Let me make it perfectly clear to everyone in this industry,"" said Lepper, ""that CEDIA is committed to defending our members' rights and preserving their association's intellectual property from this unwarranted attack by Bose Corporation."" The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's ruling is available in PDF format on CEDIA's web site at www.cedia.org.

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