A Media Startup Punchbowl News Faces Trademark Infringement Lawsuit from Punchbowl, Inc.
A federal lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Virginia on Friday alleges that media startup Punchbowl News infringed on the trademark of Punchbowl, Inc., a Massachusetts-based company that focuses on online invitations and greeting cards rather than online newsletters.
“Since at least as early as April of 2006, Plaintiff has used the highly distinctive and commercially strong PUNCHBOWL® mark (the ‘PUNCHBOWL Mark’) to market and sell its online communications solutions throughout the United States and the world,” the lawsuit begins. ‘The PUNCHBOWL Mark has been extensively advertised and promoted in various media in the United States, including online through the PUNCHBOWL website (https://www.punchbowl.com) and social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.”
The plaintiff says that “substantial time, effort, and resources” have been spent on building the brand under the “Punchbowl Mark,” claiming the “public has come to recognize and rely upon the PUNCHBOWL Mark as an indication of the high quality associated with Plaintiff’s online communications solutions.”
