John Sutton v. Williamsburg Winery, Ltd.

MEMORANDUM

John Paul Sutton, an attorney representing himself, appeals from the district court’s summary judgment in his trademark action alleging infringement and false designation of origin in connection with the sale of-wine. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review de novo, Abdul-Jabbar v. Gen. Motors Corp., 85 F.3d 407, 410 (9th Cir.1996), and we affirm.

The district court properly granted summary judgment because Sutton failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether he used the Adagio mark within the previous three years or whether he intended to resume use of the mark. See id. at 411 (setting forth elements of abandonment under 15 U.S.C. § 1127 and noting that “[o]nce created, a prima facie case of abandonment may be rebutted by showing valid reasons for nonuse or lack of intent to abandon the mark”); see also Electro Source, LLC v. Brandess-Kalt-Aetna Grp., Inc., 458 F.3d 931 , 936-37 (9th Cir.2006) (explaining that “use” means “placement on goods sold or transported in commerce” and that a registrant cannot “overcome a presumption of abandonment arising from subsequent non-use by simply averring a subjective affirmative intent not to…