US-CA9 · jury_instructions
9th Cir. Model Jury Instr. (Civil) 15.23
Defenses—Abandonment—Affirmative Defense—Defendant’s Burden of Proof
(15 U.S.C. § 1127)
The [owner] [assignee] [licensee] of a trademark cannot exclude others from using the trademark if it has been abandoned.
The defendant [name] contends that the trademark has become unenforceable because the [owner] [assignee] [licensee] abandoned it. The defendant [name] has the burden of proving abandonment by [clear and convincing] [a preponderance of the] evidence.
The [owner] [assignor] [licensor] of a trademark abandons the right to exclusive use of the trademark when the [owner] [assignor] [licensor] does any one of the following:
First, discontinues its [good faith] use in the ordinary course of trade, intending not to resume using it;
Second, [acts] [or] [fails to act] so that the trademark’s [primary significance] [primary meaning] [principal significance] [principal meaning] to prospective consumers has become the [good] itself and not the [producer of the good]; or
Third, fails to exercise adequate quality control over the [goods] sold under the trademark by a licensee.
Provenance
- Source
- ce9.uscourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-20
- Edition
- 2026-08-20
- Content hash
fd9e8b735a2950c7beb60bffbaad7a361c4133eacfd564e24b8259691a06ba39
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