Steele v. Bulova Watch Co.
United States Supreme Court
344 U.S. 280 (1952)
- Written by Carolyn Strutton, JD
Facts
Bulova Watch Co. (plaintiff) was an American company that manufactured and sold watches under the registered trademark “Bulova.” Steele (defendant) was a United States citizen who conducted a watch business in Mexico that produced and sold watches in that country marked with the “Bulova” name, with the purpose of deceiving consumers as to the true origin of the watches being sold. Steele purchased some of the watch parts used by his company in the United States, and the fraudulent watches often appeared back across the border in the United States. Steele had initially registered the mark in Mexico, but the Mexican Supreme Court upheld an administrative ruling that had nullified that registration. Bulova sued Steele in United States federal court for trademark infringement and requested injunctive and monetary relief. The district court judge held that the court lacked jurisdiction over the matter. The appeals court reversed the lower court’s ruling, finding that there was a cause of action under the Lanham Act. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Clark, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 803,000 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.
