Ty Inc. v. Perryman
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
306 F.3d 509 (2002)
Ty (plaintiff), which deliberately undersupplied the market for its trademarked Beanie Babies to maintain demand, sued secondary-market reseller Perryman (defendant), who sold genuine used Beanie Babies alongside other non-Ty plush toys through her domain bargainbeanies.com, with a webpage section labeled 'Other Beanies' linking to those non-Ty products; the district court granted Ty summary judgment and broadly enjoined Perryman from using 'Beanie' or 'Beanies' in any business or domain name, or to describe any non-Ty product. Perryman appealed.
Whether anti-dilution statutes extend to prohibit commercial uses that may accelerate the transition from trademarks to generic names.