Dan Rozansky recently wrote an article for Forbes on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to reverse a previous grant of summary judgment in Amazon’s favor. The Court of Appeals ruled that Amazon Inc. must face a jury trial over claims that its streaming device, “fire TV," infringes upon the “FyreTV” trademark of Miami-based company Wreal, LLC, which streams hardcore pornography both via the internet and its set-top box under its FyreTV brand. Wreal’s use of the FyreTV mark predates Amazon’s use of its fire TV mark.
In the article, Dan notes that this case is considered a “reverse confusion” case as Wreal’s senior FyreTV mark is far less well known than Amazon’s junior fire TV mark. Dan defines reverse confusion cases, and outlines how they are different from typical “forward confusion” cases. He also describes the seven-factor test used in trademark infringement cases and explains how this test must be applied differently in reverse confusion cases than forward confusion cases. Dan also summarizes the 11th Circuit’s considerations of this case when the seven-factor test is applied, noting that most factors tend to lean in Wreal’s favor.
Read Dan’s latest article, entitled “Amazon Under ‘Fyre’ In Reverse Confusion Trademark Infringement Case” on Forbes.
