FreecycleSunnyvale v. The Freecycle Network, No. 08-16382

Trademark Licensing Dispute

In FreecycleSunnyvale v. The Freecycle Network, No. 08-16382, a declaratory action arising from a trademark licensing dispute, alleging noninfringement of defendant's trademarks and tortious interference with plaintiff's business relations, the court affirmed summary judgment for defendant where defendant: 1) did not retain express contractual control over plaintiff's quality control measures; 2) did not have actual controls over plaintiff's quality control measures, and 3) was unreasonable in relying on plaintiff's quality control measures.

As the court wrote:  "FreecycleSunnyvale ("FS") is a member group of The Freecycle Network ("TFN"), an organization devoted to facilitating the recycling of goods. FS filed a declaratory action against TFN arising from a trademark licensing dispute, alleging noninfringement of TFN's trademarks and tortious interference with FS's business relations. FS moved for partial
summary judgment on the issue of whether its naked licensing defense to trademark infringement allowed it to avoid a finding of infringement as a matter of law."

Related Resources

• Read the Ninth Circuit's Decision in FreecycleSunnyvale v. The Freecycle Network, No. 08-16382