Trademark Not Abandoned.

A bank acquired an insurance/financial services company and changed the name of the newly acquired company, but continued to display the former trademark in order to maintain the website and metatags and accept customer payments. A few years later, the bank did not renew registration of the trademark. Former employees of the company the bank acquired launched a new company and used the mark. The bank brought an action against the new company, seeking a preliminary injunction, which the federal district court denied. The Ninth Circuit reversed, stating: “To prove abandonment of a mark as a defense to a claim of trademark infringement, a defendant must show that there was (1) discontinuance of trademark use and (2) intent not to resume such use.” (Wells Fargo v. ABD Insurance & Financial Services, Inc. (Ninth Cir.; March 3, 2014) (Case No. 13-15625).)