Aero Turbine, Inc. v. Aeroturbine, Inc.
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
In this trademark dispute, plaintiff-appellant Aero Turbine, Inc., appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment for defendant-appellee Aero Turbine, Inc., on the basis of laches. Because appellant’s mark was never taken out of the public domain, we affirm.
To determine whether appellee was entitled to summary judgment based on the laches defense, the district court applied the six-factor test from E-Systems, Inc. v. Monitek, Inc., 720 F.2d 604 (9th Cir.1983). The first factor of that test required the court to consider the evidence regarding *769 the strength and value of the trademark rights asserted.
Reviewing the issue de novo, we hold that the district court was correct in finding that appellant’s mark was descriptive rather than suggestive. A “descriptive” term “specifically describes a characteristic or ingredient of an article or service”; a “suggestive” term “suggests rather than describes an ingredient, quality, or characteristic of the goods and requires imagination, thought, and perception to determine the nature of the goods.” Surgicenters of Am., Inc. v. Med. Dental Surgeries, Co., 601 F.2d 1011, 1014-15 (9th Cir.1979).