Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: Trademark Jurisdiction

In a trademark case, the federal courts have subject-matter jurisdiction.......I assume you know that; the question you need to have answered is really whether venue is proper in a California or Texas federal court.

Whether the suit can be brought and maintained in a California district court - and which one - is fairly fact-specific, and the inquuiry would have to go beyond the mere fact that folks in California canlog on to the infringing Web site.

A starting point for you would be to find the case Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. v. Nissan Computer Corp. (2000) 89 F.Supp.2d 1154, which while not as authoritative as an appellate or Supreme Court decision, is pretty easy to read and may give non-lawyer business people a useful starting point.

As you will see, to keep the case in a Calif. district court, you will have to show certain facts pointing to a particular focus of the defendant on your district; this could be simply that they were deliberately attacking you, or that they had other motives or connections with California and that district.

If the Texas company was neither targeting your company nor California business, and has no office or other significant, on-going connection with California, your suit may get bounced out of the California district court.

As to freezing assets, I have had success in convincing Federal district courts in California to issue pre-judgment writs of attachment to freeze assets of defendants where I could show a likelihood assets would be hidden, and little harm to defendant from the attachment. You would have to post a bond, and that would require good credit and/or some assets.

Re: Trademark Jurisdiction

Without knowing your entire situation, you may want to exhaust non-litigation tactics before jumping into federal court (assuming your trademark is federally registered with the USPTO). One method you could use is to approach the company's internet service provider and have them remove the infringer's web site. There are specific steps that must be followed to do this but it would be effective and far less expensive than even filing an action in federal court.

Re: Trademark Jurisdiction

In response to your question I would need more information. There is a difference between a California Trademark, and a federal trademark. Where and how is your trademark registered, and in what class is it registered?

Regards,

JDH, Esq.

619 298 1969