Social Technologies LLC v. Apple Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIES LLC, Case No. 18-cv-05945-VC

Plaintiff,

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S

v. MOTION FOR SUMMARY

JUDGMENT AND GRANTING

APPLE INC., DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR

SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Defendant. Re: Dkt. Nos. 115, 124

1. Apple’s motion for summary judgment on Social Tech’s statutory trademark claim is granted. In April 2016, Social Tech filed an intent-to-use application for the trademark “MEMOJI” with the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). 15 U.S.C. § 1051(b). To complete its registration, Social Tech filed a “verified statement that the mark is in use in commerce” with the PTO on June 30, 2018. § 1051(d)(1); see Trademark File 228–29, Dkt. No. 115-3. Apple challenges the validity of this filing and seeks cancellation of Social Tech’s registration on the ground that Social Tech did not use the MEMOJI mark in commerce. The Lanham Act defines the term “use in commerce” to mean “the bona fide use of a mark in the ordinary course of trade, and not made merely to reserve a right in a mark.” 15 U.S.C. § 1127. The definition further provides (in slightly circular…