Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc.

The Supreme Court of the United States decided on June 29, 2023, in the case of Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc. (No. 21-1043). Here's a summary of the case:

Hetronic International, Inc., a US company, manufactures remote controls for construction equipment. Abitron, a group of foreign companies, formerly acted as Hetronic's licensed distributor but later claimed ownership of Hetronic's intellectual property, including trademarks. Abitron began selling Hetronic-branded products, mostly in Europe, but also made some direct sales in the US.

The Supreme Court held that the Lanham Act's provisions prohibiting trademark infringement (1114(1)(a) and 1125(a)(1)) do not apply extraterritorially. The Court applied the presumption against extraterritoriality, concluding that these provisions extend only to claims where the infringing use in commerce is domestic.

Domestic Application:

The Court established a two-step framework to determine the domestic application of a statute. First, it assesses whether the statute is extraterritorial. If not, it identifies the statute's focus and determines whether the conduct relevant to that focus occurred in the US.

Conduct Relevant to Focus:

The Court concluded that "use in commerce" is the conduct relevant to the focus of §1114(1)(a) and §1125(a)(1). This means that the Lanham Act applies when a marked good is in domestic commerce, and the mark serves a source-identifying function.

Implications:

The ruling limits the Lanham Act's reach to domestic trademark infringement, potentially reducing international discord and respecting the territorial nature of trademark law.