Seventh Circuit affirms Google's right to ANDROID trademark and rejects 'naked licensing' issues raised by Specht

摘要

On April 4, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit determined that a software firm, owned by Erich Specht, had abandoned the ANDROID DATA trademark when it ceased operations in 2002 and that it had failed to reclaim the trademark prior to Google Inc's launch of the Android operating system in 2007.3 The Seventh Circuit affirmed the Northern District of Illinois' conclusion4 that Google's Android operating system did not infringe the ANDROID DATA trademark, because Mr. Specht had not used the trademark in commerce for more than three years, and had not shown any intent to resume use by the time Google began using ANDROID in commerce in 2007.5 In concluding that Google was the senior user of the ANDROID trademark, the Seventh Circuit briefly considered Mr. Specht's argument that Google had released its operating system under a "naked license," but the court dismissed that argument as untimely without much analysis.