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Avon's Trademark Infringement Threats Constitute Case Or Controversy Ripe For Resolution

You've been sued seven times already before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the US Patent and Trademark Office, and the attorney of the company suing you says they're going to sue you again for trademark infringement.

Do you have a reasonable belief the company will live up to its threat? 

Likely so, and even more likely if the company is beauty giant Avon, and you're a comparatively small, start-up company.  Even perhaps more so when your product is called "DermaNew" and Avon's product is called "Anew."  Avon alleges the two names are too similar to one another and will likely cause the average consumer of beauty products to be confused between the two and therefore constitute trademark infringement.

MIPTC is luckily not such a consumer, and even if I was, I don't think I'd be confused between the two.  But that wasn't the issue before this court.

Apparently Avon successfully convinced the trial court that there was no present "case or controversy" pending that needed adjudication.  DermaNew thought Avon's threats were real and appealed the dismissal to the Ninth Circuit.

The result?  Dismissal reversed.  Apparently the higher court believed Avon's threats to be realistic and ready for resolution by the lower court.  In other words, a "do over." 

You never knew beauty could be so dangerous, did you?