Goto.Com, Inc. v. Walt Disney Company

202 F.3d 1199 (9th Cir. 2000)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

In December 1997, P began using on its web site one of the two logos. The logo consists of the words 'GO' and 'TO' in a white font stacked vertically within a green circle. Although this green circle has been displayed against backgrounds of various colors, it is very often rendered against a square yellow background. To the right of the word 'TO' are the characters '.com' in black, spilling out of the green circle onto the background color. D commissioned a design firm to devise a logo for its Web portal, the Go Network, in April 1998. D's logo resembles a traffic light. It contains a green circle within a yellow square, with details and contouring that is suggestive of a traffic light with a single lens. Within the green circle, the word 'GO' appears in a white font, and next to the traffic light, the word 'Network' appears in a black font. D employed its logo and P complained and demanded it be taken down. P filed this lawsuit alleging a violation of § 43(a)(1)(A) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(A). P moved for a preliminary injunction. It was granted and D filed a notice of appeal and moved the district court to modify and to stay the preliminary injunction. P proposed an amendment that allowed D to phase out its use of the logo in many of its incarnations. That amendment was granted and D appealed.