US Army at war with alcohol shop over ‘Black Knights’ trademark
The US Army and the US Military Academy (USMA) have sued a New York-based alcohol shop over its use of the ‘Black Knights’ trademark.
Filed at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, August 8, the complaint accused the ‘Frasiekenjes’ store of using the Army’s “goodwill and brand reputation for its own enrichment”.
The USMA currently holds three trademark registrations for ‘Black Knights’, which is the name of the academy’s athletics teams.
These are US registration numbers 2699081 (registered in March 2003); 3711271 (dating to November 2009); and 5176324 (registered in 2017), the claim said.
The alleged offence began in September 2016 when, after Frasiekenjes had received a licence to sell alcohol, a sign was put in the shop window saying “Black Nights Wine and Spirits coming soon”, coupled with a picture of the Army football team.
The first of four cease-and-desist letters was then sent demanding the shop stop using the trademark, the claim added.
“Within weeks there was another more permanent sign” once the shop had opened, while there was also allegedly a wooden statue of an Army cadet in full uniform in the shop and other Army paraphernalia.
The complaint stated that this led to a second cease-and-desist letter, and after no response was received, a third was sent directly to the owner of the shop.
A fourth and final letter was then sent to the address on file, but the store “continues to display a permanent sign reading ‘Black Nights Wine and Spirits’ in the black and gold colours of the USMA’s athletic teams”.
The Army is now seeking injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees, and further relief the court deems just and proper.
This isn’t the first time the US military have been involved in an IP dispute.
As reported by WIPR in November, the US Navy hit back at claims of copyright infringement after Bitmanagement had accused it of pirating more than 558,000 copies of 3D virtual reality software.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox
Today’s top stories:
Netflix comic books buy allows freedom from IP licensing deals: lawyers
Federal Circuit throws out $2.8m fees in Fossil dispute
