The Long Arm of the Lanham Act? Supreme Court to Consider Foreign Reach of US Law

Circuit courts have struggled for decades to adopt a uniform approach for when to apply the Lanham Act extraterritorially. That struggle may end soon. In the Abitron Austria case, the Supreme Court is set to clarify the scope of the Lanham Act’s extraterritorial application. Abitron Austria GmbH et al. v. Hetronic Int’l Inc., Case No. 21-1043 (Supr. Ct. Nov. 4, 2022) (certiorari granted). With its review, the Supreme Court may determine a plaintiff’s ability to recover damages for foreign trademark infringement by foreign defendants, and it could finally resolve the ongoing circuit split on the applicability of the Lanham Act to this foreign conduct.

Case Background: How 3% US Sales Created a 100% Liability