Shutts & Bowen LLP is pleased to announce a significant victory for its client, the Sanford Airport Authority (SAA), in a nearly decade-long trademark dispute with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) over the use of the name “Orlando Sanford International Airport.”
The litigation arose after GOAA challenged SAA’s 2016 trademark applications for the airport’s name and logo, arguing that SAA’s use of “Orlando” and “International” was likely to cause traveler confusion. SAA has operated as Orlando Sanford International Airport since 1995, serving the greater Orlando region for three decades.
Representing SAA, Shutts & Bowen successfully obtained summary judgment on SAA’s delay defenses concerning the majority of the case. The ruling eliminated GOAA’s jury demand, leaving a narrow claim for a bench trial. Shortly before the trial, the parties reached a negotiated resolution in which GOAA stipulated to a final judgment in SAA’s favor and executed a covenant not to bring future claims challenging SAA’s use of the airport’s name, securing SAA’s long-standing naming rights while avoiding further litigation.
The dispute attracted national attention because it examined trademark rights associated with geographic names, long-standing marketplace coexistence, and airports providing services to large geographic regions. The case spanned proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
“This result reflects years of strategic litigation and reinforces that decades of established use and coexistence are critical in analyzing competing trademark interests,” said Woodrow “Woody” H. Pollack, Co-Chair of Shutts & Bowen’s Intellectual Property Practice and lead counsel on the matter. “We are proud to have helped Sanford Airport Authority protect the name and brand it has used for more than 30 years.”
In addition to Pollack, the Shutts & Bowen team representing the Sanford Airport Authority included Brett R. Renton, Jodi-Ann Tillman, and paralegal Katie Chambers.
“The court’s rulings and the parties’ settlement finally have resolved this important trademark issue,” said Renton, who has represented SAA for nearly two decades. “It is important that any airport thinking about changing its name work with very good counsel before doing so to ensure they can navigate trademark law.”
About Shutts & Bowen LLP
Shutts & Bowen LLP, established in 1910, is a full-service business law firm with approximately 280 lawyers in offices in Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Tampa and West Palm Beach. Learn more about Shutts & Bowen at www.shutts.com.