In an
April 27, 2015 ruling, Judge Thomas P. Griesa found that the Court had summary judgment matter jurisdiction to entertain a declaratory judgment action trademark non-infringement, but that exercising such jurisdiction would serve no useful purpose. In this action, the owner of the “Rolcx” trademark for watches and jewelry sued to invalidate the registered “RLX RALPH LAUREN” and “RALPH LAUREN RLX” marks for the same goods, and the defendant counterclaimed for non-infringement. In finding a justiciable declaratory judgment controversy, Judge Griesa noted:
Multiple facts in the record demonstrate that this question meets the Medlmmune standard for justiciability. First, Rolex acknowledges it will bring an infringement action if [the declaratory judgment plaintiff] produces watches and jewelry bearing those marks.…Second, [the declaratory judgment plaintiff] has already offered and sold, between 2004 and 2007, a watch bearing the RLX mark, demonstrating the reality of the controversy, as well as [its] ability and willingness to launch the products in question. …Third, [the declaratory judgment plaintiff] has entered into a joint venture with [a] watchmaker .… Both sides have vigorously pursued this litigation at considerable expense. All this tends to show that the parties here have a real, substantial dispute concerning the trademarks in question, satisfying the Medlmmune standard and establishing the court's declaratory judgment jurisdiction.
The Court nevertheless found that exercising jurisdiction would not be useful, based in part on “legitimate concerns about whether the parties can litigate questions of infringement or dilution (in connection with the declaratory judgment claim) without evidence flowing from the products’ existence in the markets” (and based in part on redacted material unavailable to the public).
