Why Did The Mushroom Go To The Party? Because he’s a . . .

In a trademark infringement action, a wholly owned subsidiary of a Japanese company brought an action against another company for violating its rights to marks under which it markets its Certified Organic Mushrooms, which are produced in the USA. Plaintiff claimed defendant wrongly imported and marketed mushrooms under its marks for Certified Organic Mushrooms, but which were cultivated in Japan under nonorganic standards. Defendant counterclaimed against plaintiff, challenging the validity of the marks. The federal district court granted summary judgment in favor of plaintiff and granted a permanent injunction against defendant. The Ninth Circuit affirmed both the grant of summary judgment and the permanent injunction. (Hokto Kinoko Co. v. Concord Farms, Inc. (Ninth Cir.; December 24, 2013) 738 F.3d 1085.