Woodard Emhardt Obtains Dismissal of Trademark Infringement Complaint

Judge Stivers of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky recently ordered that a trademark infringement lawsuit filed against operators of historical horse racing games by numerous prominent race tracks should be dismissed. The suit alleged that the defendants infringed upon the Plaintiffs’ trademarks by using the racetracks’ names to identify the location where historic horse races had taken place. The Court reasoned that the defendants were “fully within their rights to describe where an event took place in their wagering system without implying the owners of the racetrack are sponsoring the game…” Moreover, the court found that the defendants were protected by the fair use defense when describing where an event took place, even when the location described is most commonly conveyed using a registered trademark. Woodard Emhardt attorneys Spiro Bereveskos and Bill McKenna are representing the Defendants.