Au-Tomotive Gold, Inc. v. Volkswagen of America, Inc.

457 F.3d 1062 (2006)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
A
From our private database of 46,200+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Au-Tomotive Gold, Inc. v. Volkswagen of America, Inc.

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
457 F.3d 1062 (2006)

  • Written by Lauren Petersen, JD
Play video

Facts

Au-Tomotive Gold, Inc. (Auto Gold) (plaintiff) manufactured automobile accessories, like license-plate covers and key chains. Auto Gold put exact replicas of the marks used by famous automobile makers, like Mercedes and BMW, on Auto Gold’s products. Auto Gold had licensing agreements with some, but not all, of the automobile manufacturers whose marks Auto Gold used on its products. For example, Auto Gold sold products bearing the marks of Volkswagen of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) and Audi (defendants) without their permission. Auto Gold sued Volkswagen and Audi seeking a declaratory judgment that, among other things, Auto Gold’s products did not infringe on Volkswagen’s and Audi’s trademarks. Auto Gold argued that, under the doctrine of aesthetic functionality, Volkswagen’s and Audi’s marks were not eligible for trademark protection. Auto Gold moved for summary judgment on the issue of trademark infringement. The district court granted Auto Gold’s motion, issued a declaratory judgment that Auto Gold’s products did not infringe the Volkswagen’s and Audi’s trademarks, and enjoined Volkswagen and Audi from enforcing their trademarks against Auto Gold. Volkswagen and Audi appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (McKeown, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 790,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 790,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 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.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 790,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,200 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Intellectual Property
Trademark

Key Terms