Zioness Movement, Inc. v. The Lawfare Project, Inc.

Petitioner Zioness Movement, Inc. is a nonprofit entity that is the registered owner of the Zioness word mark. Amanda Berman, the founder of Zioness Movement, Inc., began using the Zioness mark while she was still employed at a separate nonprofit entity, Respondent The Lawfare Project, Inc. After the mark was registered to Zioness Movement, The Lawfare Project sought to cancel Zioness Movement’s registered mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Zioness Movement sought a declaration of ownership in the district court and The Lawfare Project counterclaimed seeking a declaration of ownership. The district court determined that both Zioness Movement and The Lawfare Project co-owned the mark—an outcome never contemplated in the litigation or argued for by either party during trial. The court of appeals, in a summary order, affirmed the district court on this issue, finding that Zioness Movement “cannot establish the ‘fundamental error’ required to reverse after its waiver of any objection to the verdict form permitting a finding of co-ownership.” The questions presented are: 1. Whether, under the Lanham Act, a court or jury may find joint ownership of a trademark between competing entities—neither of which pleaded or proved co-ownership— without violating the fundamental principle that a trademark must indicate a single source of goods or services to consumers.