Pogrebnoy v. Russian Newspaper Distribution, Inc.

289 F. Supp. 3d 1061
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedOctober 2, 2017
DocketCV 10–8532 PA (SSx)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 289 F. Supp. 3d 1061 (Pogrebnoy v. Russian Newspaper Distribution, Inc.) 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
Pogrebnoy v. Russian Newspaper Distribution, Inc., 289 F. Supp. 3d 1061 (C.D. Cal. 2017).

Opinion

Percy Anderson, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This action involves allegations of trademark and trade dress infringement asserted by plaintiff Oleg Pogrebnoy ("Pogrebnoy") against defendants Russian Newspaper Distribution, Inc., MMAP, Inc., Vitaly Matusov ("Matusov"), and Alexander Ginzburg ("Ginzburg") (collectively "Defendants") arising out of the publication of a Russian language newspaper titled "Kypbep" in Cyrillic and translated by Pogrebnoy as "courier" in English.

Pogrebnoy, appearing pro se, commenced this action on November 9, 2010. In his First Amended Complaint ("FAC"), Pogrebnoy alleged claims for: (1) trademark infringement under section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) against Defendants; (2) trade dress infringement under section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) against Defendants; (3) cancellation of a federal trademark registration for "LAKurier.com" pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1064 against defendants Russian Newspaper Distribution, Inc. and Ginzburg; and (4) unfair competition against Defendants.

The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. In a June 28, 2011 Minute Order, the Court concluded that Pogrebnoy had not provided admissible evidence of the transfer of his asserted intellectual property rights from one of the entities in the purported chain of title to another of the predecessor entities. As a result, the Court concluded that Pogrebnoy lacked standing to pursue his claims and entered Judgment in favor of Defendants. On November 14, 2013, the Ninth Circuit issued a Mandate reversing the entry of Judgment and, among other things, directed the Court "to address alternate theories of standing, including whether Pogrebnoy acquired an ownership interest in the Kurier mark on the basis of an assignment from his wholly-owned company, which had priority of use of the mark over defendants, or whether Pogrebnoy was a nonowner with a cognizable commercial interest in the Kurier mark." Pogrebnoy v. Russian Newspaper Distrib., Inc., 536 Fed.Appx. 737, 738 (9th Cir. Aug. 5, 2013) (citing Halicki Films, LLC v. Sanderson Sales & Mktg., 547 F.3d 1213, 1225-26 (9th Cir. 2008) ).

The Court, sitting without a jury, conducted a bench trial on February 25, 2014, September 2, 2014, and September 3, 2014. The parties submitted trial declarations, the Court took evidence, and allowed for cross-examination of the parties' witnesses. Following the trial, the parties submitted proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a).1 Defendants also filed a Motion for Judgment on Partial Findings Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(c) (Docket No. 179).

The Court issued Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and a Judgment on December 18, 2014. One of several alternative bases for the Court's conclusion that Pogrebnoy had failed to satisfy his burden of proof on his claims was that Pogrebnoy had failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that he was the first to use the Kypbep mark in the relevant Los Angeles-area market. This holding was premised on the Tea Rose-Rectanus doctrine involving the priority of use of a mark in a *1065geographic area. See Grupo Gigante SA De CV v. Dallo & Co., 391 F.3d 1088 (9th Cir. 2004).

Pogrebnoy appealed the Court's Judgment. In a Memorandum Disposition issued on July 13, 2017, the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded the action to this Court because, after this Court issued its Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, the Ninth Circuit had concluded that the Tea Rose-Rectanus doctrine does not apply where the junior user had knowledge of the senior user's prior use. See Stone Creek, Inc. v. Omnia Italian Design, Inc., 875 F.3d 426(9th Cir. 2017). Specifically, the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded the action with directions that this Court:

[G]ive further consideration to Pogrebnoy's trademark infringement claim. On remand, the district court should also reconsider whether Pogrebnoy expressly or implicitly granted Matusov a license to use the Kypbep mark and whether Pogrebnoy is entitled to damages or injunctive relief.

(9th Circuit's Memorandum at 2, Docket No. 209.) The Ninth Circuit affirmed this Court's classification of Kypbep as a descriptive rather than suggestive mark. The Ninth Circuit also affirmed several of this Court's evidentiary and procedural decisions and this Court's conclusion that Pogrebnoy failed to prove a claim for trade dress infringement. After issuance of the Ninth Circuit's Mandate, this Court ordered the parties to file briefs with argument concerning the issues the Ninth Circuit instructed this Court to reconsider.

The Court has considered those briefs and again reviewed the evidence and testimony presented by the parties during the 2014 Court Trial. Having considered the materials submitted by the parties, observed the witnesses during cross-examination, and after reviewing the evidence, the Court makes the following Revised Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a) on the issues the Ninth Circuit remanded to this Court to reconsider. Any finding of fact that constitutes a conclusion of law is hereby adopted as a conclusion of law, and any conclusion of law that constitutes a finding of fact is hereby adopted as a finding of fact.

I. FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Pogrebnoy's FAC alleges that his trademark, which is unregistered, "consists of the Russian word 'Kypbep.' " (FAC ¶ 1.)

2. "Kypbep" is the Russian equivalent of the English word "courier."

3. Pogrebnoy asserts that he has standing to pursue the claims alleged in the FAC as a result of an assignment from Radony, Inc., a company he controls, that he executed in November 2010.

4. According to Pogrebnoy, Radony, Inc.

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Bluebook (online)
289 F. Supp. 3d 1061, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pogrebnoy-v-russian-newspaper-distribution-inc-cacd-2017.