American Waltham Watch Co. v. United States Watch Co.
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
173 Mass. 85 (1899)
- Written by Emily Houde, JD
Facts
American Waltham Watch Co. (American) (plaintiff) filed for an injunction against United States Watch Co. (U.S. Watch) (defendant) to prevent U.S. Watch’s use of the name “Waltham Watch” or “Waltham Watches” in its advertising. American was the first manufacturer of watches in Waltham. The lower court found that, over time, “Waltham,” when used in association with watches, had obtained a secondary meaning as a watch sold by American. Although U.S. Watch agreed to stop using “Waltham Watch” or “Waltham Watches,” U.S. Watch then argued that it should be allowed to use “Waltham” or “Waltham, Mass” on the plates of its watches. The lower court found that the injunction against all use of “Waltham” should stand, as the publication of the geographic location of U.S. Watch’s business on the watches’ dials was not important knowledge for consumers. U.S. Watch then appealed this decision, arguing that it had the right to put its name and address on its watches without having to add a disclaimer distinguishing them from American’s watches.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Homes, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
