Source: cases/15usc1125/f3d-932-589-sportfuel-v-pepsico.case
Case source: https://www.neochart.com/catalog/cases/f3d/volume_932/0589_01/index.html
In short, to raise the fair use defense successfully, Gatorade must show that (1) it did not use "Sports Fuel" as a trademark, (2) the use is descriptive of its goods, and (3) it used the mark fairly and in good faith.
Accordingly, we do not believe the district court erred in determining that Gatorade never employed the term "Sports Fuel" as a trademark in its "Gatorade The Sports Fuel Company" slogan.
We conclude that Gatorade's slogan uses "Sports Fuel" in a descriptive sense.
Further, it is clear from the record that Gatorade provided sufficient evidence that it used the term "Sports Fuel" fairly and in good faith.
casedsl 1 case /f3d/932/0589-01 name Sportfuel, Inc. v. Pepsico, Inc. cite 932 F.3d 589 (2019) court United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit date 2019-08-02 url catalog/cases/f3d/volume_932/0589_01/index.html source ir/caselaw/f3d_932.jsonl sha1=203df98e4bfc17cdfba2ce87c0a2c45e994ed13e chars=27554 law 15usc1125 role applied posture Appeal from summary judgment for defendants; fair-use defense reviewed de novo; confusion was not adjudicated. result claimant-lost defense descriptive-fair-use : satisfied [law] variant descriptive-use/sports-nutrition-slogan party Gatorade and PepsiCo theory Nontrademark descriptive use in good faith rule @7033..7251 | In short, to raise the fair use defense successfully, Gatorade must show that (1) it did not use "Sports Fuel" as a trademark, (2) the use is descriptive of its goods, and (3) it used the mark fairly and in good faith. fact @10646..10757 [supports] | The products' individual packaging and displays feature Gatorade's house mark and G Bolt logo more prominently. fact @16052..16370 [supports] | First, producers of nutritional products for athletes regularly invoke the "Sports Fuel" terminology to describe the products they sell. Gatorade provided numerous examples of this widespread industry use to the district court, including, for example, Twin Laboratories' "SPORT FUEL" and Trident Sports' "SPORTS FUEL." fact @26582..26778 [supports] | Gatorade's stated purpose in adopting the challenged slogan was to help the company better describe its business and the products it sells. Nothing in the record actually contradicts this purpose. fact @11267..11381 [cuts-against] | SportFuel emphasizes that Gatorade employed a "TM" symbol with the slogan and obtained a trademark for the slogan. held @12299..12486 | Accordingly, we do not believe the district court erred in determining that Gatorade never employed the term "Sports Fuel" as a trademark in its "Gatorade The Sports Fuel Company" slogan. held @18007..18084 | We conclude that Gatorade's slogan uses "Sports Fuel" in a descriptive sense. held @26440..26581 | Further, it is clear from the record that Gatorade provided sufficient evidence that it used the term "Sports Fuel" fairly and in good faith. gloss All three defense prongs were sustained on summary judgment. [law] records the defense being legally established on a record viewed favorably to SportFuel; it does not signify trial factfinding or a concession. The DSL has no affirmative-defense summary-judgment-success basis. element likely-confusion : not-reached variant confusion/reverse-confusion role rule-announced rule @5934..6141 [quoted] | "To prevail on either claim, a plaintiff must establish that (1) its mark is protectable and (2) the defendant's use of the mark is likely to cause confusion among consumers." CAE, Inc. , 267 F.3d at 673-74. fact @24558..24810 [supports] | In this case, the alleged reverse confusion would occur when Gatorade used its house mark alongside the term "Sports Fuel," which would effectively coopt SportFuel's trademark and confuse consumers by leading them to believe the companies were related. gloss Claimed confusion supplies context only; the court resolves the case through fair use without deciding that confusion exists or is absent. misfit No basis precisely describes summary judgment establishing an affirmative defense: triable is only survival, proved suggests factfinding, and no-evidence cannot accompany satisfied. The fair-use block uses law with the limitation stated explicitly.