Hearts on Fire Co. v. Blue Nile, Inc.
United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
603 F. Supp. 2d 274 (2009)
- Written by Mike Cicero , JD
Facts
Hearts on Fire Company, LLC (plaintiff) was a wholesaler of diamonds and jewelry to authorized retailers that had used its tradename, Hearts on Fire, as a trademark to identify its goods since as early as 1996. Hearts on Fire provided a website promoting its jewelry and directing consumers to its authorized retailers. Blue Nile Inc. (defendant) operated an online diamond and jewelry retail store, but not as an authorized Hearts on Fire retailer. Hearts on Fire sued Blue Nile for trademark infringement, alleging that Blue Nile used the words “hearts on fire” to trigger website links sponsored by Blue Nile. Hearts on Fire alleged that the triggering occurred through the action of a search engine paid by Blue Nile to display sponsored links with Blue Nile’s web address (www.bluenile.com) whenever a consumer conducted a search using the phrase “hearts on fire.” Each sponsored link, when clicked, would route a consumer to Blue Nile’s web address. Several of Blue Nile’s triggered links, however, did not recite the “Hearts on Fire” trademark, though they did recite portions of that trademark, i.e., either the word “hearts” or “on fire.” Blue Nile moved to dismiss Hearts on Fire’s allegation that Blue Nile had committed trademark infringement by using the trademark to trigger the sponsored links.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Gertner, J.)
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