Emergency One, Inc. v. American Fireeagle, Limited

Emergency One, Inc. (E-One), a manufacturer of fire trucks and
rescue vehicles, brought this trademark infringement suit against
American FireEagle, Ltd. (AFE), a competing manufacturer of fire
trucks. E-One alleged that AFE's AMERICAN FIREEAGLE mark,
a bald eagle superimposed over an American flag, infringed E-One's
rights in its AMERICAN EAGLE mark, also a bald eagle superimposed over an American flag. AFE defended on the ground that
E-One had abandoned its mark. It also counterclaimed that E-One's
renewed use of the AMERICAN EAGLE mark, after AFE had begun
using its AMERICAN FIREEAGLE mark, was an infringement of
American FireEagle's common law trademark rights. Pre-trial stipulations narrowed the case to a single issue: Had E-One abandoned the
AMERICAN EAGLE mark? If yes, E-One was infringing AFE's
rights; if no, AFE was infringing E-One's rights. The issue was ultimately submitted to a jury, which found that E-One had not abandoned the AMERICAN EAGLE mark.

AFE appeals, arguing (1) that it was entitled to judgment as a mat-
ter of law, (2) that the district court erred in excluding certain evi-
dence, and (3) that the district court failed to instruct the jury properly
on the law of trademark abandonment.

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Click the case caption above for the full text of the Court's opinion.

Because we agree that certain
of the district court's instructions to the jury were inadequate, we
vacate the judgment (and injunction) and remand for a new trial.

Unknown

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Lawton Rogers commented: The Court of Appeals, in considering abandonment, granted FireEagle's motion
that Emergency One has ceased use as a matter of law but held that there was
jury issue as to Emergency One's intent to resume under proper
instructions. On retrial, the jury rendereded a verdict that Emergency One
did not have an intent to resume.

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