Supreme Court of the United States
Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic Int'l, Inc.
June 29, 2023600 U.S. 412
Summary
The Court held that the relevant Lanham Act provisions do not apply extraterritorially because they contain no clear indication that Congress intended them to govern foreign conduct. Under the statute's domestic-application inquiry, the location of the infringing use in commerce determines whether the claim is domestic or impermissibly foreign. The Court vacated the appellate judgment and remanded for proceedings applying that rule.
Holding
- Whether the relevant Lanham Act provisions apply extraterritorially. The relevant provisions are not extraterritorial because neither contains an express statement or other clear indication that it applies to foreign conduct.
- What conduct determines whether a Lanham Act claim is domestic under the second step of the extraterritoriality framework. The location of the infringing use in commerce provides the dividing line between domestic and foreign applications of the relevant provisions. A claim is domestically actionable only when the use in commerce relevant to the alleged violation occurred in the United States, even if other conduct occurred abroad.
Docket 21-1043
Cited authorities
- CA10
- 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114
- 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(A)
- CA11
- 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114
- 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(A)
- 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114
- 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(A)