Caiz v. Roberts

224 F. Supp. 3d 944, 121 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1315, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174421, 2016 WL 7335573
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedDecember 15, 2016
DocketCV No. 15-09044-RSWL-AGRx
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 224 F. Supp. 3d 944 (Caiz v. Roberts) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Caiz v. Roberts, 224 F. Supp. 3d 944, 121 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1315, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174421, 2016 WL 7335573 (C.D. Cal. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER Re: DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [44]

HONORABLE RONALD S.W. LEW, Senior United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

Currently before the Court is Defendants William Leonard Roberts II aka Mastermind aka Rick Ross (“Roberts”), Universal Music Group, Inc. (“Universal”), Def Jam Records, Inc., (“Def Jam”), and Maybach Music Group, LLC’s (“May-bach”) (collectively, “Defendants”) Motion for Summary Judgment [44]. The Court, having reviewed all papers and arguments submitted pertaining to this Motion, NOW FINDS AND RULES AS FOLLOWS: Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment [44] is GRANTED.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

Plaintiffs claims against Defendants include Federal Trademark Infringement pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1114, a violation of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), Federal Trademark Dilution, Unfair Enrichment, Unfair Competition, and Misappropriation, Compl. ¶¶ 39-65. Plaintiff is a hip-hop music artist. Id. at ¶ 2. Plaintiff owns the trademark rights to “Mastermind.” Id. Roberts is also a hip-hop artist. Id. at ¶ 3. Plaintiff alleges Defendants have wilfully infringed on Plaintiffs trademark rights by releasing an album entitled “Mastermind,” titling Roberts’ tour “Mastermind,” and Roberts taking on the persona of “Mastermind," causing confusion in the marketplace. Id Defendants filed a Counterclaim of cancellation of the federal trademark registration under 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a) and 15 U.S.C. §§ 1119, 1064. [948]*948Counterclaim ¶ 5. Defendants allege the “Mastermind” mark is invalid because it is a generic and/or merely descriptive term that has not acquired a secondary meaning and Plaintiff has abandoned the mark. Id. at ¶ 12.

B. Procedural Background

On November 20, 2015, Plaintiff filed a Complaint in this Court [1]. On February 16, 2016, Defendants filed an Answer [18]. On February 18, 2016, Defendants filed a Counterclaim against Plaintiff [22]. On March 8, 2016, Plaintiff filed an Answer to the Counterclaim [28]. On October 7, 2016, Defendants filed the instant Motion for Summary Judgment along with a Statement of Undisputed Facts and Conclusions of Law [44] [45]. On October 7, 2016, Defendants also filed a Request for Judicial Notice [46]. On October 18, 2016, Plaintiff filed an Opposition to the Motion for Summary Judgment along with a Statement of Disputed Facts and an Opposition to Defendants’ Statement of Undisputed Facts [52]. On October 25, 2016, Defendants filed a Reply [53].

III. DISCUSSION

A. Legal Standard

1. Motion for Summary Judgment

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 states that a “court shall grant summary judgment” when the movant “shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A fact is “material” for purposes of summary judgment if it might affect the outcome of the suit, and a “genuine issue” exists if the evidence is such that a reasonable fact-finder could return a verdict for the non-moving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The evidence, and any inferences based on underlying facts, must be viewed in the light most favorable to the opposing party. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. v. MCA, Inc., 715 F.2d 1327, 1329 (9th Cir. 1983). In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court’s function is not to weigh the evidence, but only to determine if a genuine issue of material fact exists. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

Under Rule 56, the party moving for summary judgment has the initial burden to show “no genuine dispute as to any material fact.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see Nissan Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Fritz Cos., 210 F.3d 1099, 1102-03 (9th Cir. 2000). The burden then shifts to the non-moving party to produce admissible evidence showing a triable issue of fact. Nissan Fire & Marine Ins., 210 F.3d at 1102-03; see Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). When a defendant- moves for summary judgment, summary judgment “is appropriate when the plaintiff fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to [their] case, and on which [they] will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Cleveland v. Policy Mgmt. Sys. Corp., 526 U.S. 795, 805-06, 119 S.Ct. 1597, 143 L.Ed.2d 966 (1999); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

The standard for a motion for summary judgment “provides that the mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgement; the requirement is that there be no genuine issues of material fact.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

B. Findings of Fact

1. Plaintiff owns a federal registration in the trademark “Mastermind.” Plaintiff applied for registration on December [949]*94924, 2005 and the registration was approved on July 16, 2013 in Classes 009 and 41, Registration No. 4,366,332. Defs.’ Statement of Undisputed Facts ¶ 1; Compl. ¶ 25.

2. Class 009 consists of: audio recordings featuring music; downloadable musical sound recordings; downloadable video recordings featuring music; musical sound recordings; musical video recordings; pre-recorded CD’s, video tapes, laser disks and DVD’s featuring music; video recordings featuring music; visual recordings and audio visual recordings featuring music and animation, excluding content consisting of general knowledge questions, quizzes and games. Defs.’ Ex. 1.

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224 F. Supp. 3d 944, 121 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1315, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174421, 2016 WL 7335573, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/caiz-v-roberts-cacd-2016.