postalnews blog

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta last month upheld a lower court ruling that held that the USPS didn’t infringe the trademark of the International Stamp Art Company when it sold items depicting postage stamps. ISA had not claimed ownership of the stamp designs, but of the perforations surrounding them.

According to the National Law Journal, the court “found no evidence that the Postal Service intended to benefit from the good will associated with International Stamp’s mark. The court noted that the design was used only to identify images on the card as postage stamps and not to confuse consumers as to the source of the stamp art cards. As for the company’s claim that its idea had been stolen, the court said, ‘trademark law does not protect against misappropriation of business concepts.’”