Florida man claims his trademark is infringed by hotel
By Pankaj Ladhar of Manos • Alwine P.L.
A Florida man has asserted that a hotel, that is scheduled to open soon, will result in trademark infringement because it is plans to use the name “Octavius Tower.” The owners of the hotel Caesars Entertainment Group then filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the Florida man is engaged in trademark Fraud.
The Florida man claims that he started a band in 1992 under the name Octavius Tower and that he received a trademark for the name in 2009. He further claims that he has used the name not just for the entertainment services of the band but also for broader entertainment and merchandising services. The Florida man sought an injunction to stop the opening of the hotel, but on Monday that requested injunction was denied by a federal judge.
The judge noted that the hotel had initially sought a trademark for the name in 2007 but development delays for the hotel caused them to abandon the application. A second application was filed by the hotel in 2010. The hotel’s lawsuit alleges that two days after they announced plans for the hotel the Florida man registered the internet domain names for octaviustower.com and caesarstower.com.
While the denial of the preliminary injunction will allow the hotel to go forward with the name for the time being, it does not bring an end to the underlying lawsuit. Now we will have to wait and see how the court views the arguments of both sides before issuing a final order to determine who has the right to the Octavius Tower name.
Source: Vegas Inc. “Caesars scores interim win in Octavius trademark lawsuit,” Steve Green, Oct. 25, 2011