Chadbourne & Parke prevailed in a trademark dispute on behalf of Bad Boy Entertainment’s Sean “Puffy” Combs (P. Diddy) against a company which attempted to register “IDIDDY” for headphones and cases for cell phones, MP3 players and similar electronic devices.

As filed before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the Opposition was based upon the likelihood of confusion, dilution and false suggestion of a connection that would arise from the use of IDIDDY by Pacific Rim Marketing and Mr. Combs’ use of his famous P. DIDDY mark.

Although Pacific Rim claimed at the time it filed to register its mark that it was using IDIDDY in commerce, it admitted during discovery that it had not sold or shipped any of its products before its filing date. As a result, Chadbourne was permitted to amend the Opposition to include a claim that Pacific Rim’s application was void for lack of use in commerce.

Having granted leave to amend, the Board went on to grant Mr. Combs’ combined motion for summary judgment on the newly added non-use claim. The Opposition was sustained and Pacific Rim’s application was refused, avoiding the time and expense of a trial on the claims initially pled.

Chadbourne team members representing Mr. Combs in intellectual property matters include partner and Co-Chair of the IP Group, John A. Squires, senior counsel Peter Bucci, counsel Richard Ross, trademark specialist Briguitte Barrera and brand portfolio manager Alessandro DeLuca.