John Wick Vs Jane Wick

John Wick being greeted at the TTAB

John Wick vs Jane Wick: A trademark stand-off at the TTAB....

Summit Entertainment, owner of the John Wick franchise, is on the attack against Jane Wick LLC. Summit filed a cancellation suit against Jane Wick LLC, arguing that Jane Wick's trademark is infringing on Summit's trademark for John Wick.

The issue for the TTAB is whether there is a likelihood of confusion. This test is two-parts. The first part is the similarity of the trademark names. The second part is the similarity of the goods sold.

While this case has not been determined yet, it is a strong example of the concept of adjacent industries in likelihood of confusion. John Wick is an action-franchise about a hitman. Jane Wick sells women-focused gun range bags. Summit so far has not sold any firearm bags for women. So it cannot be said that Jane Wick is taking John Wick's existing market.

However, the TTAB regularly finds that if there is a naturally adjacent industry that consumers would associate with the plaintiff's brand, that the trademark will extend to the adjacent industry. So, does an iconic action movie naturally extend into the firearm accessory industry? If so, Jane Wick may just be John Wick's next casualty.

Source: https://lnkd.in/gSNKvD3c