American Waltham Watch Co. v. United States Watch Co.
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
173 Mass. 85 (1899)
Relevant factsFree
American Waltham (plaintiff), the first watch manufacturer in Waltham, established secondary meaning in "Waltham" as denoting its own watches; U.S. Watch (defendant), a later competitor, tried to use "Waltham" or "Waltham, Mass." on its own watch dials after having previously attempted to market its watches deceptively as "Waltham Watches" to trade on American's reputation.
IssueFree
Whether a geographic term may be protected as a trademark if it has acquired a secondary meaning and become associated with a specific user's products.
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