Albert v. Spencer

Citation: Albert v. Spencer, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12700 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 14, 1998).

Factual Background
Plaintiff used the mark AISLE SAY for theater reviews in New York-area print publications for nineteen years. Defendant began using the same mark for theater reviews published on an Internet website in 1995. Neither party registered the mark.

Trial Court Proceedings
The court examined the likelihood of confusion factors and held that there was no danger of consumer confusion. It particularly noted that there was no real competition between the parties because their reviews appeared in different media, and defendant included a disclaimer on his website stating that it was not connected to the plaintiff’s column. The court dismissed plaintiff’s complaint, allowing defendant to continue using the mark on his website.

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