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Hanginout, Inc. v. Google, Inc.

United States District Court for the Southern District of California
54 F. Supp. 3d 1109 (2014)

Written by Angela Patrick, JD

Facts

In 2009, Hanginout, Inc. (plaintiff) began creating an interactive online platform that allowed sellers to interact directly with potential customers by exchanging prerecorded video clips. In 2010, Hanginout began actively marketing its platform under the mark Hanginout. Hanginout used social media and celebrity endorsements to advertise the platform. In April 2011, customers began registering to join the Hanginout platform. In that first month, 200 users registered and created profiles. In June 2011, Google, Inc. (defendant) publicly released a product called Hangouts, which allowed users to interact in real time through instant messages and video conferences. In 2012, around 50,000 users visited the Hanginout platform, and approximately 7,000 downloaded the app. The next year, 1,000 users downloaded the app. In 2013, Hanginout sued Google in federal district court, alleging that Google’s use of the name Hangouts infringed on Hanginout’s mark. Neither Hanginout nor Google had registered its mark, so Hanginout pursued a common-law trademark-infringement claim. Hanginout moved for a preliminary injunction preventing Google from using the name Hangout either nationwide or, alternatively, in the Southern California market. The court considered the motion.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Battaglia, J.)

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