Legalforce Rapc Worldwide, Pc v. Legalforce, Inc.

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

LEGALFORCE RAPC No. 23-2855

WORLDWIDE, PC,

D.C. No. 3:22-cv-03724- Plaintiff - Appellant,

TLT

v.

LEGALFORCE, INC., a Japanese OPINION corporation,

Defendant - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Trina L. Thompson, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted October 23, 2024 San Francisco, California

December 27, 2024

Before: Sidney R. Thomas, Kim McLane Wardlaw, and Daniel P. Collins, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Sidney R. Thomas; Concurrence by Judge Daniel P. Collins LEGALFORCE RAPC WORLDWIDE V. LEGALFORCE, INC.

SUMMARY *

Lanham Act

The panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal, for failure to state a claim, of an action under the Lanham Act alleging trademark infringement in defendant’s advertising and selling of equity. LegalForce RAPC Worldwide, P.C. (“LegalForce USA”), a California S corporation that operates legal services websites, sued LegalForce, Inc. (“LegalForce Japan”), a Japanese corporation that provides legal software services, for trademark infringement, alleging…