Intellectual Property News and Reports

Plaintiff-appellant, International Stamp Art, Incorporated (“ISA”) appeals a grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant-appellee, the United States Postal Service (“Postal Service”) with respect to the Postal Service’s assertion of fair use in response to ISA’s allegations of trademark infringement. The appeal requires us to determine the appropriate legal standard for good faith with respect to a fair-use defense in this context, an issue of first impression for us. Because we join four other circuits in holding that the legal standard is the same as for any other trademark infringement inquiry into good faith – whether the alleged infringer intended to benefit from the good will associated with the holder of the mark – and because there is no evidence in the record indicating that the Postal Service so intended, we AFFIRM.

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