Central Manufacturing, Inc. v. Brett
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
492 F.3d 876 (7th Cir. 2007)
Central Manufacturing (plaintiff), owned by Leo Stoller, registered "Stealth" as a trademark for various products in 1985, but Brett Brothers (defendant), owned by George Brett, began selling "Stealth" baseball bats in 1999 and sold over 25,000 units before Central specifically registered "Stealth" for baseball bats in 2004; Central then sued for trademark infringement, but the district court granted Brett Brothers summary judgment, finding Central and Stoller couldn't produce evidence of any bona fide intent to actually use "Stealth" in commerce for baseball bats, canceling Central's registration and awarding attorney's fees against Central given Stoller's history of frivolous trademark litigation. Central appealed.
Whether a defendant's established, extensive prior commercial use of a mark can override a plaintiff's later trademark registration when the plaintiff lacked a bona fide intent to actually use the mark in commerce at the time of registration.