Jay Franco & Son, Inc. v. Franek

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment in action seeking to invalidate defendant’s trademark obtained under Lanham Act with respect to defendant’s design of round beach towels. Dist. Ct. could properly find that defendant’s trademark was functional, and thus was not protected under Lanham Act, since round design of towel produced benefit to consumer other than information about manufacturer’s identity. Moreover, round design of towel had effect on cost or quality of towel that rendered defendant’s trademark functional under TrafFix Devices, 532 US 23.