East Iowa Plastics, Inc. v. PI, Inc., No. 16-4574 (8th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit considered this trademark dispute on remand. In the previous appeal, the court asked the district court to address state-law questions pertaining to the availability of attorney's fees and the ownership of a contested trademark. The district court entered orders on those questions and this appeal followed. The court held that the district court erred in determining plaintiff was entitled to attorney's fees under Iowa common law. In this case, defendant's misrepresentation to the patent office was improper, but its conduct did not rise to the level of being tyrannical, cruel, or harsh under Iowa common law. Finally, the briefs and oral arguments lead the court to conclude that defendant owned a license to use the PAKSTER mark in connection with injection-molded chicken coops, injection-molded egg baskets, and injection-molded egg flats. Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded with instructions.
Court Description: Kelly, Author, with Gruender and Beam, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Trademarks. For the court's prior opinion in the matter, see E. Iowa Plastics, Inc. v. PI, Inc, 832 F.3d 899 (8th Cir. 2016). The district court erred in determining plaintiff was entitled to attorney's fees under Iowa common law; while defendnat's misrepresentation to the Patent and Trademark Office was certainly improper and might even have been made in bad faith, the conduct did not rise to the level of being tyrannical, cruel or harsh, the standards for an award of fees under Iowa common law; defendant owns a license to use the trademark in connection with injection-molded chicken coops, egg baskets and egg flats.
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