dismiss the civil suit filed against it
over the alleged infringement over
the term "shorebilly," asserting the
generic term is so firmly entrenched
in the local vernacular that it cannot
be afforded trademark protection.
ago began marketing and distribut-
ing various items prominently fea-
turing the term `shorebilly," filed a
civil suit in U.S. District Court, alleg-
ing the recently opened Shorebilly
Brewing Co. on the Boardwalk was
infringing on its trademark. The
complaint is urging the court to is-
sue a preliminary and permanent
injunction enjoining Southbound
One Inc. and its Shorebilly Brewing
name for the restaurant and brew
pub and for any of its merchandise.
The suit is also urging the court to
require Southbound One to account
for and pay over to Teal Bay Allianc-
es all profits it received during its
use of the trademark Shorebilly.
Shorebilly with the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office and the application
was approved in October 2010. Teal
Bay then continued to market and dis-
tribute Shorebilly goods under its offi-
cially registered trademark.
bound One Inc. and owner Danny
Robinson intended to open a new
brew pub on the Boardwalk operat-
ing under the name Shorebilly
Brewing Co. The restaurant opened
in May and has been up and run-
also filed an application with the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
for the trademark Shorebilly, but
was informed by the federal agency
the mark was already registered
and its rights were owned by Teal
Bay. Nonetheless, Southbound One
moved forward with the opening of
the brew pub and restaurant.
to consider a different name, Teal Bay
Alliances in late July filed a civil suit in
U.S. District Court against South-
bound One, alleging trademark in-
fringement and unfair competition.
Last week, however, Southbound
One filed an answer the complaint
and a motion to dismiss the case,
pointing out the term "shorebilly" is so
familiar to the public that it should be
considered generic and therefore not
subject to trademark protection.
miss reads. "Both terms are com-
monly used to identify people who
live in a certain place in accordance
with a certain lifestyle. The term
`shorebilly' used in such a context is
no more subject to trademark pro-
tection than the same items adorn-
ed with the word `hillbilly.' Both
terms are generic in the eyes of
trademark law because neither con-
veys an indication of source and
there is a common understanding of
the meaning of each word from the
viewpoint of the relevant public."
eric nature of the term.
reads. "This is because when a gen-
eric term is used, the source of the
goods is unknowable and the goods
cannot be distinguished from other
products on the market."
on the Internet and other places and
the term appears in different contexts
with the same general meaning. For
example, it appears as a common us-
er name on a variety of online forums
to describe individuals primarily living
on Maryland's Eastern Shore "that are
the sea-shore cousins of hillbillies,"
and that is also appears as the name
for boats, menu items at various es-
tablishments, according to the motion.
Hiipp,, HHiipp HHoorrrraay
s LLaabboorr D
Arre
Caassuuaall W
Foooodd &&
Sppeecciiaa
lss
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