Combe Inc. v. Dr. Aug. Wolff GMBH & Co.
Combe Inc. v. Dr. Aug. Wolff GMBH & Co.
Opinion of the Court
At issue in this appeal from a decision by the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("TTAB") pursuant to
I.
Plaintiff, Combe Incorporated, is a Delaware corporation and a leading maker of personal-care products for men and women. In particular, since approximately 1973, plaintiff has offered and sold a wide variety of women's personal care products, including medicated creams, moisturizers, deodorant powders, wipes, gels, washes and other products, under the trademark VAGISIL. Defendant, Dr. August Wolff GmbH & Co. KG Arzneimmitel, is a German limited liability partnership that manufactures medicinal, cosmetic and dermatological products, including feminine products under the label VAGISAN. Defendant maintains its headquarters in Bielefeld, Germany and has no offices or employees in the United States. Defendant's products are authorized for sale primarily in Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, Serbia/Montenegro, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary, and the United Kingdom. At this time, defendant has not yet sold any products in the United States, but defendant has taken steps toward entering the U.S. market, including: filing an application with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration ("FDA") for approval of the VAGISAN moisturizing cream and entering into discussions with distributors, consultants, and independent contractors regarding the development of a program to sell VAGISAN products in the United States.
Defendant also filed an application with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office ("PTO") to register the mark VAGISAN for "pharmaceutical preparations, namely, *521vaginal moisturizers, vaginal anti-fungal preparations, vaginal washes; sanitary preparations for medical use; diet pills, diet capsules, diet liquid medications" and "soaps, perfumery, essential oils, cosmetics, hair lotions." Compl. ¶ 26. Plaintiff opposed this trademark application, arguing that defendant's use of a VAGISAN mark would create a likelihood of confusion with plaintiff's existing registered VAGSIL mark. Following consideration of evidence submitted by the parties on the likelihood of confusion, the TTAB issued a final decision on June 19, 2017, dismissing plaintiff's opposition and determining that the VAGISAN mark did not so resemble the VAGISIL mark as to be likely to cause "confusion," "mistake," or "deception" pursuant to
Thereafter, plaintiff filed this action on August 21, 2017 pursuant to
(i) a claim for trademark infringement under the Lanham Act;
(ii) a claim for trademark infringement, false designation of origin, passing off, and unfair competition under the Lanham Act;
(iii) a claim for trademark dilution under the Lanham Act;
(iv) a claim for trademark infringement under the Virginia Trademark and Service Mark Act; and
(v) a claim for trademark infringement and unfair competition under Virginia Common Law.
On November 6, 2017, defendant filed a motion to dismiss each of these claims, apart from the claim stemming from the § 1071 TTAB appeal, for lack of personal jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 12(b)(2), Fed. R. Civ. P. In support of this motion, defendant argues that because defendant has never sold products in the United States and maintains no offices in the United States, defendant does not possess the requisite minimum contacts with either Virginia or the United States to support personal jurisdiction. Plaintiff opposes the motion, arguing that defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction pursuant both to
II.
It is well-settled that the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution requires a nonresident defendant to have "certain minimum contacts with [the forum state] such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice." Int'l Shoe Co. v. Wash. ,
Here, it is undisputed that personal jurisdiction exists with respect to plaintiff's § 1071 TTAB appeal. The Supreme Court has made clear that "[b]ecause the requirement of personal jurisdiction represents first of all an individual right, it can, like other such rights, be waived." Ins. Corp. of Ireland, Ltd. v. Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee ,
*523Because personal jurisdiction exists with respect to the § 1071 TTAB appeal, it is appropriate to exercise pendent personal jurisdiction over defendant with respect to plaintiff's additional claims if those claims arise out of a common nucleus of operative fact as the § 1071 TTAB appeal. Clearly, a common nucleus of operative fact exists here. The § 1071 TTAB appeal is based on factual allegations tending to show that defendant's plan to sell products in the United States under the VAGISAN mark would likely cause confusion, mistake, or deception as to the source origin of defendant and its products. Plaintiff's trademark infringement and unfair competition claims arise out of this same set of operative facts, namely, that defendant plans to sell products under a mark that would infringe on and dilute plaintiff's trademark in the United States. Put simply, because all of these claims turn on a finding that there is a likelihood of confusion between the marks, the claims arise out of a common nucleus of operative fact and pendent personal jurisdiction is proper.
Defendant attempts to avoid this conclusion by relying on American Standard, Inc. v. Sanitary Wares Manufacturing Corp.
Nor do the cases defendant cited at oral argument compel a result different from the conclusion reached here. At oral argument, defendant cited Quick Technologies, Inc. v. Sage Grp. PLC
Next, defendant contends that pendent personal jurisdiction is not appropriate because there is no common nucleus of operative fact between plaintiff's § 1071 TTAB appeal and plaintiff's trademark infringement and unfair competition claims. Specifically, defendant argues that the appeal involves only issues of registration, whereas *524the remaining causes of action concern the use of the VAGISAN mark. To be sure, as defendant notes, "[a] trademark registration proceeding and a trademark infringement proceeding are not the same,"
In sum, because plaintiff's unfair competition and trademark infringement claims arise out of a common nucleus of operative fact as a claim over which personal jurisdiction exists-the § 1071 TTAB appeal-it is appropriate to exercise pendent personal jurisdiction and consider all of these claims together.
Accordingly, and for good cause,
It is hereby ORDERED that defendant's motion to dismiss Counts II-VI of the complaint is DENIED.
The facts pertinent to defendants' motion to dismiss are appropriately derived from the complaint, exhibits attached to the complaint, matters of public record, and the affidavits defendants submitted to challenge the existence of personal jurisdiction. See Universal Leather, LLC v. Koro AR, S.A. ,
Several other circuits have also adopted the doctrine of pendent personal jurisdiction. See, e.g. , IUE AFL-CIO Pension Fund v. Herrmann ,
Ins. Corp. of Ireland, Ltd. , at 704,
Moreover, defendant has also waived any service of process defense it might have asserted. Rule 4(k)(1)(C), Fed. R. Civ. P. provides that "[s]erving a summons or filing a waiver of service establishes personal jurisdiction over a defendant ... when authorized by a federal statute." Here, a federal statute expressly authorizes such service with respect to plaintiff's § 1071 TTAB appeal. Specifically,
McBee v. Delica Co. ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- COMBE INC. v. DR. AUGUST WOLFF GMBH & CO. KG ARZNEIMITTEL
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Published