Washington Court of Appeals’ definition of trademark rights in Washington
Recently, the Washington Court of Appeals waded into the murky waters of defining trademark use when an out-of-state marijuana business licenses a trademark for the sale of cannabis products in Washington. In Headspace International LLC v. Podworks Corp, the Washington Court of Appeals considered two fundamental trademark principles: (1) to establish trademark rights, the mark owner must lawfully use the mark in commerce in the relevant jurisdiction; and (2) to enforce its trademark rights, a licensor must exercise sufficient control over the goods and services sold under the mark by the licensee. Walking a fine line between these two principles, the Court ultimately held that licensing a trademark to a Washington cannabis business is sufficient to establish “lawful use in commerce” in Washington for the purpose of establishing trademark rights. But such use is not sufficient to constitute doing cannabis business in Washington.