Monster, Inc. v. Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corp.
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
2013 WL 367160 (2013)
- Written by Meagan Messina, JD
Facts
Monster, Inc. (Monster) (plaintiff) manufactured products using the Dolby Headphone Mark belonging to Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corp. (Dolby) (defendant). Monster sued Dolby, seeking declaratory relief in the form of a declaration that the Monster Headphone Mark did not infringe Dolby’s trademark rights on the grounds that no likelihood of confusion, trademark infringement, or unfair competition existed and that Dolby abandoned its trademark. Dolby filed a counterclaim alleging federal trademark infringement and federal and state unfair competition. Monster argued that Dolby’s claims were barred because using headphones as a design element was not protectable or aesthetically functional. Monster moved for summary judgment. Dolby moved for partial summary judgment on Monster’s theories of naked licensing and abandonment and Monster’s affirmative defense of aesthetic functionality.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Rogers, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 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.
