ITC Limited and ITC Hotels Limited v. Punchgini, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
482 F.3d 135 (2007)
ITC Limited (plaintiff) had operated an internationally known "Bukhara" restaurant in India since 1977 and opened Bukhara restaurants in New York City and Chicago in 1987, registering the U.S. trademark that same year, but both U.S. locations later closed (New York in 1991, Chicago in 1997). In 1999, Punchgini, Inc. (defendant), founded by former employees of ITC's restaurants, opened an Indian restaurant in New York called "Bukhara Grill," and when ITC sued for unfair competition under the Lanham Act, Punchgini argued ITC had abandoned the mark since it no longer operated any U.S. Bukhara restaurant.
Whether foreign trademark holders can obtain priority of trademark rights in the United States through the famous-marks doctrine for federal unfair-competition claims.