1-800 Contacts, Inc. v. WhenU.com, Inc.

JOHN M. WALKER, JR., Chief Judge.

Defendant-appellant WhenU.com, Inc. ("WhenU") is an internet marketing company that uses a proprietary software called "SaveNow" to monitor a computer user's internet activity in order to provide the computer user ("C-user") with advertising, in the form of "pop-up ads," that is relevant to that activity. Plaintiff-appellee 1-800 Contacts, Inc. is a distributor that sells contact lenses and related products by mail, telephone, and internet website. At the time 1-800 filed this action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Deborah A. Batts, District Judge), it owned a registered trademark in the service mark "WE DELIVER. YOU SAVE." and had filed applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on July 8, 1999, to register the service mark "1-800CONTACTS", and on October 2, 2000, to register the service mark of "1-800CONTACTS" in a specific color-blocked design logo.

1-800 filed a complaint alleging, inter alia, that WhenU was infringing 1-800's trademarks, in violation of the Lanham Act, by causing pop-up ads of 1-800's competitors to appear on a C-user's desktop when the C-user has accessed 1-800's website. In an Opinion entered January 7, 2004, the district court granted 1-800's motion for a preliminary injunction as it related to 1-800's trademark claims, and enjoined WhenU from using or otherwise displaying 1-800's trademarks, or anything confusingly similar to such trademarks, in connection with WhenU's contextually relevant advertising. WhenU has filed this interlocutory appeal.

We hold that, as a matter of law, WhenU does not "use" 1-800's trademarks within the meaning of the Lanham Act, when it (1) includes 1-800's website address, which is almost identical to 1-800's trademark, in an unpublished directory of terms that trigger delivery of WhenU's contextually relevant advertising to C-users; or (2) causes separate, branded pop-up ads to appear on a C-user's computer screen either above, below, or along the bottom edge of the 1-800 website window. Accordingly, we reverse the district court's entry of a preliminary injunction and remand with instructions to (1) dismiss with prejudice 1-800's trademark infringement claims against WhenU, and (2) proceed with 1-800's remaining claims.

BACKGROUND

I. The Internet and Windows

By way of introduction to this case we incorporate the district court's helpful tutorial on the Internet and the Microsoft Windows operating environment as it pertains to this litigation:

The Internet is a global network of millions of interconnected computers. . . . [A C-user] can access . . . information that is stored on the Internet in repositories called "servers." Much of the information stored in servers on the Internet can be viewed . . . in the form of "webpages," which are collections of pictures and information, retrieved from the Internet and assembled on the [C-user]'s computer screen. "Websites" are collection[s] of [related] webpages that are organized and linked together to allow a [C-user] to move from webpage to webpage easily. . . .

. . .
II. The Challenged Conduct
. . .
WhenU provides a proprietary software called "SaveNow" without charge to individual C-users, usually as part of a bundle of software that the C-user voluntarily downloads from the internet. "Once installed, the SaveNow software requires no action by the [C-user] to activate its operations; instead, the SaveNow software responds to a [C-user]'s 'in-the-moment' activities by generating pop-up advertisement windows" that are relevant to those specific activities. To deliver contextually relevant advertising to C-users, the SaveNow software employs an internal directory comprising "approximately 32,000 [website addresses] and [address] fragments, 29,000 search terms and 1,200 keyword algorithms," that correlate with particular consumer interests to screen the words a C-user types into a web browser or search engine or that appear within the internet sites a C-user visits.

When the SaveNow software recognizes a term, it randomly selects an advertisement from the corresponding product or service category to deliver to the C-user's computer screen at roughly the same time the website or search result sought by the C-user appears. As the district court explained,

The SaveNow software generates at least three kinds of ads--an ad may be a small 'pop-up' . . . [that appears] in the bottom right-hand corner of a [C-user]'s screen; it may be a 'pop-under' advertisement that appears behind the webpage the [C-user] initially visited; or it may be a 'panoramic' ad[] that stretches across the bottom of the [C-user]'s computer screen.

Each type of ad appears in a window that is separate from the particular website or search-results page the C-user has accessed. Id. In addition, a label stating "A WhenU Offer--click ? for info." appears in the window frame surrounding the ad, together with a button on the top right of the window frame marked "?" that, when clicked by the C-user, displays a new window containing information about WhenU and its ads, as well as instructions for uninstalling the resident SaveNow software.

Usually there is a "few-second" delay between the moment a user accesses a website, and the point at which a SaveNow pop-up advertisement appears on the [C-user]'s screen.

If a SaveNow user who has accessed the 1-800 Contacts website and has received a WhenU.com pop-up advertisement does not want to view the advertisement or the advertiser's website, the user can click on the visible portion of the [1-800] window . . ., [which will move] the 1-800 Contacts website . . . to the front of the screen display, with the pop-up ad moving behind the website window. Or, . . . the [C-user] can close the pop-up website by clicking on its "X," or close, button. If the user clicks on the pop-up ad, the main browser window (containing the 1-800 Contacts website) will be navigated to the website of the advertiser that was featured inside the pop-up advertisement.

In its complaint, 1-800 alleges that WhenU's conduct infringes 1-800's trademarks, in violation of Sections 32(1) and 43(a) of the Lanham Act, by delivering advertisements of 1-800's competitors (e.g., Vision Direct, Inc.) to C-users who have intentionally accessed 1-800's website. Although somewhat difficult to discern from the complaint, the allegations that pertain specifically to 1-800's trademark claims appear to be as follows: (1) WhenU's pop-up ads appear "on," "over," or "on top of" the 1-800 website without 1-800's authorization, and change its appearance; (2) as a result, the ads impermissibly "appear to be an integral and fully authorized part of [1-800's] website"; (3) in addition, WhenU's unauthorized pop-up ads "interfere with and disrupt the carefully designed display of content" on the website, thereby altering and hindering a C-user's access to 1-800's website; (4) WhenU is thereby "free-riding" and "trad[ing] upon the goodwill and substantial customer recognition associated with the 1-800 Contacts marks"; and (5) WhenU is using 1-800's trademarks in a manner that creates a likelihood of confusion.

Following an evidentiary hearing on 1-800's motion for a preliminary injunction, the district court held that 1-800 had demonstrated a likelihood of success on its trademark infringement claims and issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting WhenU from utilizing 1-800's trademarks. WhenU appeals the district court's decision.

DISCUSSION

WhenU challenges the district court's finding that WhenU "uses" 1-800's trademarks within the meaning of the Lanham Act. . . .

II. "Use" Under the Lanham Act

The Lanham Act defines "use in commerce," in relevant part, as follows:

. . . . For purposes of this Chapter, a mark shall be deemed to be in use in commerce-

(1) on goods when-
(A) it is placed in any manner on the goods or their containers or the displays associated therewith or on the tags or labels affixed thereto, or if the nature of the goods makes such placement impracticable, then on documents associated with the goods or their sale, and
(B) the goods are sold or transported in commerce, and
(2) on services when it is used or displayed in the sale or advertising of services and the services are rendered in commerce . . . .

In issuing the preliminary injunction, the district court held that WhenU

use[s] [1-800]'s mark in two ways. First, in causing pop-up advertisements for Defendant Vision Direct to appear when SaveNow users have specifically attempted to access [1-800]'s website--on which Plaintiff's trademark appears--[WhenU is] displaying Plaintiff's mark "in the . . . advertising of" Defendant Vision Direct's services . . . [and, [t]hus, . . . [is] "using" Plaintiff's marks that appear on Plaintiff's website.

Second, Defendant WhenU.com includes Plaintiff's [website address], trademark,] in the proprietary WhenU.com directory of terms that triggers pop-up advertisements on SaveNow users' computers. In so doing, Defendant WhenU.com "uses" Plaintiff's mark . . . to advertise and publicize companies that are in direct competition with Plaintiff.

Prior to the district court's decision, two other courts had addressed the issue of "use" as it applies to WhenU's specific activities and reached the opposite conclusion. In Wells Fargo & Co. v. WhenU.com, Inc., the district court denied Wells Fargo's motion for a preliminary injunction after finding that WhenU's inclusion of plaintiff Wells Fargo's trademarked website address in WhenU's proprietary directory of keywords was not "use" for purposes of the Lanham Act, and that WhenU did not alter or interfere with Wells Fargo's website in any manner. The district court in U-Haul International, Inc. v. WhenU.com, Inc., employing a very similar analysis, granted summary judgment in favor of WhenU after concluding that WhenU's inclusion of U-Haul's trademarked website address in the SaveNow directory was not actionable because it was for a "pure machine-linking function" that was not "use" under the Lanham Act.

In the case before us, the district court's consideration of these two comprehensive decisions on the precise issue at hand was confined to a footnote in which it cited the cases, summarized their holdings in parentheticals, and concluded, without discussion, that it "disagree[d] with, and [was] not bound by these findings." Unlike the district court, we find the thorough analyses set forth in both U-Haul and Wells Fargo to be persuasive and compelling.

A. The SaveNow Directory

The district court held that WhenU's inclusion of 1-800's website address in the SaveNow directory constitutes a prohibited "use" of 1-800's trademark. We disagree.

At the outset, we note that WhenU does not "use" 1-800's trademark in the manner ordinarily at issue in an infringement claim: it does not "place" 1-800 trademarks on any goods or services in order to pass them off as emanating from or authorized by 1-800. . . . The fact is that WhenU does not reproduce or display 1-800's trademarks at all, nor does it cause the trademarks to be displayed to a C-user. Rather, WhenU reproduces 1-800's website address, identical, to 1-800's 1-800CONTACTS trademark. . . .

The district court found that the differences between 1-800's trademarks and the website address utilized by WhenU were insignificant because they were limited to the addition of the "www." and ".com" and the omission of the hyphen and a space. We conclude that, to the contrary, the differences between the marks are quite significant because they transform 1-800's trademark -- which is entitled to protection under the Lanham Act -- into a word combination that functions more or less like a public key to 1-800's website.

Moreover, it is plain that WhenU is using 1-800's website address precisely because it is a website address, rather than because it bears any resemblance to 1-800's trademark, because the only place WhenU reproduces the address is in the SaveNow directory. Although the directory resides in the C-user's computer, it is inaccessible to both the C-user and the general public. Thus, the appearance of 1-800's website address in the directory does not create a possibility of visual confusion with 1-800's mark. More important, a WhenU pop-up ad cannot be triggered by a C-user's input of the 1-800 trademark or the appearance of that trademark on a webpage accessed by the c-user. Rather, in order for WhenU to capitalize on the fame and recognition of 1-800's trademark - the improper motivation both 1-800 and the district court ascribe to WhenU - it would have needed to put the actual trademark on the list.

In contrast to some of its competitors, moreover, WhenU does not disclose the proprietary contents of the SaveNow directory to its advertising clients nor does it permit these clients to request or purchase specified keywords to add to the directory. . . .

A company's internal utilization of a trademark in a way that does not communicate it to the public is analogous to a individual's private thoughts about a trademark. Such conduct simply does not violate the Lanham Act, which is concerned with the use of trademarks in connection with the sale of goods or services in a manner likely to lead to consumer confusion as to the source of such goods or services. . . .

Accordingly, we conclude that WhenU's inclusion of the 1-800 website address in its SaveNow directory does not infringe on 1-800's trademark.

B. The Pop-up Advertisements

The primary issue to be resolved by this appeal is whether the placement of pop-up ads on a C-user's screen contemporaneously with either the 1-800 website or a list of search results obtained by the C-user's input of the 1-800 website address constitutes "use" under the Lanham Act. The district court reasoned that WhenU, by "causing pop-up advertisements for Defendant Vision Direct to appear when SaveNow users have specifically attempted to access [1-800]'s website, . . . [is] displaying [1-800]'s mark in the . . . advertising of . . . Vision Direct's services."

The fatal flaw with this holding is that WhenU's pop-up ads do not display the 1-800 trademark. The district court's holding, however, appears to have been based on the court's acceptance of 1-800's claim that WhenU's pop-up ads appear "on" and affect 1-800's website. . . . As we explained above, the WhenU pop-up ads appear in a separate window that is prominently branded with the WhenU mark; they have absolutely no tangible effect on the appearance or functionality of the 1-800 website.

More important, the appearance of WhenU's pop-up ad is not contingent upon or related to 1-800's trademark, the trademark's appearance on 1-800's website, or the mark's similarity to 1-800's website address. Rather, the contemporaneous display of the ads and trademarks is the result of the happenstance that 1-800 chose to use a mark similar to its trademark as the address to its web page and to place its trademark on its website. The pop-up ad, which is triggered by the C-user's input of 1-800's website address, would appear even if 1-800's trademarks were not displayed on its website. A pop-up ad could also appear if the C-user typed the 1-800 website address, not as an address, but as a search term in the browser's search engine, and then accessed 1-800's website by using the hyperlink that appeared in the list of search results.

In addition, 1-800's website address is not the only term in the SaveNow directory that could trigger a Vision Direct ad to "pop up" on 1-800's website. For example, an ad could be triggered if a C-user searched for "contacts" or "eye care," both terms contained in the directory, and then clicked on the listed hyperlink to 1-800's website.

Exemplifying the conceptual difficulty that inheres in this issue, the district court's decision suggests that the crux of WhenU's wrongdoing -- and the primary basis for the district court's finding of "use" -- is WhenU's alleged effort to capitalize on a C-user's specific attempt to access the 1-800 website. As the court explained it,

"WhenU.com is doing far more than merely "displaying" Plaintiff's mark. WhenU's advertisements are delivered to a SaveNow user when the user directly accesses Plaintiff's website--thus allowing Defendant Vision Direct to profit from the goodwill and reputation in Plaintiff's website that led the user to access Plaintiff's website in the first place."


Absent improper use of 1-800's trademark, however, such conduct does not violate the Lanham Act. . . . Indeed, it is routine for vendors to seek specific "product placement" in retail stores precisely to capitalize on their competitors' name recognition. For example, a drug store typically places its own store-brand generic products next to the trademarked products they emulate in order to induce a customer who has specifically sought out the trademarked product to consider the store's less-expensive alternative. WhenU employs this same marketing strategy by informing C-users who have sought out a specific trademarked product about available coupons, discounts, or alternative products that may be of interest to them.

1-800 disputes this analogy by arguing that unlike a drugstore, only the 1-800 website is displayed when the pop-up ad appears. This response, however, ignores the fact that a C-user who has installed the SaveNow software receives WhenU pop-up ads in a myriad of contexts, the vast majority of which are unlikely to have anything to do with 1-800 or the C-user's input of the 1-800 website address.

The cases relied on by 1-800 do not alter our analysis. As explained in detail by the court in U-Haul, they are all readily distinguishable because WhenU's conduct does not involve any of the activities those courts found to constitute "use." Significantly, WhenU's activities do not alter or affect 1-800's website in any way. Nor do they divert or misdirect C-users away from 1-800's website, or alter in any way the results a C-user will obtain when searching with the 1-800 trademark or website address. . . .

In addition, unlike several other internet advertising companies, WhenU does not "sell" keyword trademarks to its customers or otherwise manipulate which category-related advertisement will pop up in response to any particular terms on the internal directory. ... In other words, WhenU does not link trademarks to any particular competitor's ads, and a customer cannot pay to have its pop-up ad appear on any specific website or in connection with any particular trademark. Instead, the SaveNow directory terms trigger categorical associations (e.g., www.1800Contacts.com might trigger the category of "eye care"), at which point, the software will randomly select one of the pop-up ads contained in the eye-care category to send to the C-user's desktop.

Perhaps because ultimately 1-800 is unable to explain precisely how WhenU "uses" its trademark, it resorts to bootstrapping a finding of "use" by alleging other elements of a trademark claim. For example, 1-800 invariably refers to WhenU's pop-up ads as "unauthorized" in an effort, it would seem, to establish by sheer force of repetition the element of unauthorized use of a trademark. Not surprisingly, 1-800 cites no legal authority for the proposition that advertisements, software applications, or any other visual image that can appear on a C-user's computer screen must be authorized by the owner of any website that will appear contemporaneously with that image. The fact is that WhenU does not need 1-800's authorization to display a separate window containing an ad any more than Corel would need authorization from Microsoft to display its WordPerfect word-processor in a window contemporaneously with a Word word-processing window. Moreover, contrary to 1-800's repeated admonitions, WhenU's pop-up ads are authorized -- if unwittingly -- by the C-user who has downloaded the SaveNow software.

1-800 also argues that WhenU's conduct is "use" because it is likely to confuse C-users as to the source of the ad. It buttresses this claim with a survey it submitted to the district court that purportedly demonstrates, inter alia, that (1) a majority of C-users believe that pop-up ads that appear on websites are sponsored by those websites, and (2) numerous C-users are unaware that they have downloaded the SaveNow software. 1-800 also relies on several cases in which the court seemingly based a finding of trademark "use" on the confusion such "use" was likely to cause. . . . Again, this rationale puts the cart before the horse. Not only are "use," "in commerce," and "likelihood of confusion" three distinct elements of a trademark infringement claim, but "use" must be decided as a threshold matter because, while any number of activities may be "in commerce" or create a likelihood of confusion, no such activity is actionable under the Lanham Act absent the "use" of a trademark. … Because 1-800 has failed to establish such "use," its trademark infringement claims fail. . . .

For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the district court's entry of a preliminary injunction and remand with instructions to (1) dismiss with prejudice 1-800's trademark infringement claims against WhenU, and (2) proceed with 1-800's remaining claims.