Together CU Trademark Suit Against Lender Partially Advances
By CU Today Staff —
ST. LOUIS—Together Credit Union can move forward with cybersquatting and Missouri trademark-dilution claims against a lending company using the Together Loans name, although a federal judge dismissed two other trademark claims, according to VitalLaw.
The St. Louis-based credit union sued Transform Credit Inc., doing business as Together Loans, alleging the lender’s name, togetherloans.com domain and mobile app are confusingly similar to Together CU’s federally registered marks. According to VitalLaw, Together CU alleged it has received “hundreds of angry phone calls from consumers confusing Plaintiff for Defendant,” and has lost customers, revenue and goodwill. Together CU has operated since 1939 and registered two “TOGETHER CREDIT UNION” service marks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2020.
U.S. District Judge C. Stevens allowed the credit union’s claim under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act to proceed, finding Together CU had sufficiently alleged bad faith. “The two domains, Plaintiff’s Marks, and Defendant’s allegedly unlawful mark are not the same, but they are very similar,” the court said, according to VitalLaw. The court also allowed a Missouri trademark-dilution claim to continue, finding state registration of the marks was not required.
The court, however, dismissed Together CU’s federal trademark-dilution claim, finding it had not sufficiently shown its marks are famous under the Lanham Act, including evidence about their geographic reach, recognition and advertising.
Originally reported by CU Today.