Insurer Not Obligated To Defend Or Indemnify In Light Of Intellectual Property Exclusion.

A famous inventor’s estate alleged the commercial use of the inventor’s name was not authorized after defendant manufactured and distributed several products using the name Buckyball, allegedly without permission or payment.  Defendant tendered defense of the action to its insurance company. The insurance company agreed to defend under a reservation of rights and Cumis counsel [Civil Code section 2860] was appointed.  The insurance company then brought an action for declaratory relief, naming both plaintiff and its insured as defendants. The trial court granted the insurance company’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in the declaratory relief action; the judgment declared the insurance company had no obligation to defend or indemnify defendant. The appellate court agreed with the trial court that the policy’s intellectual property exclusion precluded any obligation on the part of the insurer. (Alterra Excess & Surplus Ins. Co. v. Snyder (Cal. App. First Dist., Div. 2; March 9, 2015) 234 Cal.App.4th 1390 [184 Cal.Rptr.3d 831].)